It's a second home outing of the week for the Blues as they face Oldham Athletic here at Brunton Park on Saturday afternoon.

This is the third time we've met this season, with the Latics running out as 3-0 victors in our September Carabao Cup tie. 

But the hosts needed a late Zak Dearnley leveller in October when we went to Boundary Park for our league meeting. Aaron Hayden had given the away side the lead just after the break but Oldham struck back to secure a point with just 10 minutes left to go.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Oldham have the third highest goal tally in the division with 46 league goals scored, but they also boast the worst defensive record with 53 goals conceded.

They've drawn on just five occasions which means there tends to be a result one way or the other whenever they take to the pitch.

Boss Harry Kewell looked to add a creative edge to his line-up in January with winger Marcus Hilssner joining on-loan for the season from Coventry.

Attacking midfielder Nicky Adams left Northampton to sign an 18-month contract and striker Marcus Barnes also came in from Southampton, having enjoyed a successful trial.

Peterborough playmaker Serhat Tasdemir completed the spike of activity with the Latics pleased with the potent mix they'd concocted come the end of the month.

Last weekend saw them draw away at Tranmere, albeit with Coelho Jombati receiving his marching orders, and Tuesday night brought a frustrating home defeat against Barrow, as Scott Quigley bagged a late, late winner for the visitors after chances had been missed at both ends.

Conor McAleny is averaging one goal every two games and for that reason alone he's our one to watch.

The creativity spoken about above - we know all about Nicky Adams, for example - is manna from heaven for an attack minded player like McAleny.

He knows the level, and he knows how to get the best out of seemingly tricky situations.

Concentration will be needed when he's on the prowl.

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The Latics bagged progression to the second round of the Carabao Cup when we went there in September 2020 at the first stage of that competition. First half goals came from Ben Garrity and Bobby Grant, with Conor McAleny sealing the deal with a late strike.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Oldham 1 – 1 United 18 Jan 2020

Carlisle 1 – 0 Oldham 28 Sep 2019 

Carlisle 6 – 0 Oldham 26 Dec 2018

Oldham 4 – 5 Carlisle 30 August 2016

Referee - Carl Boyeson
Assistant Referee 1 - Peter Gooch
Assistant Referee 2 - Bradley Hall
Fourth Official - Scott Williams
Observer - Michael Pike

Our referee for this game is Mr Carl Boyeson. He has been the man in the middle for 19 games so far this season showing 69 yellow cards and no reds.

This is the second time in this campaign that Mr Boyeson has been in charge of these two teams when they've played against each other. He was at Boundary Park in September for the Carabao Cup game (highlights above) where Nick Anderton, Aaron Hayden and Rod McDonald all went in the book.

A regular for Carlisle United fixtures, we saw him just once in 2019/20. That was for the August 2019 visit of Mansfield when Danny Rose and Nicky Maynard put the visitors two goals to the good before the break. That was how the game ended, but it was a day for cards as three of the away side were joined by Byron Webster for United with yellows to their name.

Season 2018/19 put him in charge of our games on three different occasions. He was the man in the middle for our 3-0 away defeat at Stevenage in April - a day which also saw Gary Miller and Tom Parkes go in the book.

Prior to that he was our match referee in January when he took charge of the home game against Cheltenham. Early second half goals from Jamie Devitt and Hallam Hope bagged us the victory, and there were no United names taken on the day.

Also, in November 2018, he officiated for our home game against Forest Green in November. Ben Morris and Carl Winchester had given the visitors a two-goal cushion, but a late Jamie Devitt penalty turned out to be nothing more than a consolation as Rovers claimed their victory. Anthony Gerrard was the only Carlisle name to be logged.

Think back a little further and he was in charge of a game that turned into a thriller for all the wrong reasons when we made the trip to face Wycombe in February 2018. A horrible first half saw the Blues go two goals behind as Matt Bloomfield and Luke O'Nien bagged quickfire goals either side of the half hour mark.

The tide changed at the start of the second half when O'Nien was sent off, and a penalty from Danny Grainger brought United right back into the game. Jamie Devitt and Cole Stockton turned it well and truly on its head, and the visitors appeared to have secured the three points as the clock ticked in to time added on.

That was when the world fell apart for the Cumbrians as Marcus Bean and Paris Cowan-Hall pounced within seconds of each other to leave the away side pondering what might have been. 

This is a behind closed doors fixture. 

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