League One side Doncaster Rovers are the visitors to Brunton Park for this Sunday's televised FA Cup second-round meeting.
Rovers breezed past FC United of Manchester in what could have been a tricky tie in front of the TV cameras in round one, with Fejiri Okenabirhie settling any nerves with an early goal for the away side.
Ben Whiteman, Josh Sims and James Coppinger added to the tally before the break, and Sims bagged another shortly after the restart to make it an emphatic victory.
The lively Sims was an October loan signing from Southampton, and he joined the club on the same day as Matt Smith, on-loan from Manchester City, to complete what had been a busy transfer period.
This weekend's visitors strung together an impressive run of results last month as they put Portsmouth, Ipswich and Lincoln to the sword in the league action.
But there was also frustration through that period as Crewe, Wigan and Plymouth ensured that they didn't get it all their own way.
Into November and it's now four league games unbeaten, with the win in the FA Cup making it a five-game unbeaten run (setting aside a blemish against the Wolves under-21 team in the Papa John's Trophy).
The upturn in results has put them in a very healthy tenth spot in the table. But that doesn't tell the full story with just five points between themselves and third-placed Lincoln making it a keenly contested division.
Goals are spread evenly around the team, with Ben Whiteman and Fejiri Okenabirhie leading the way, and Madger Gomes and Josh Sims have also weighed in with important strikes.
But can you really look any further than James Coppinger?
Over 600 appearances for the club he calls home, the evergreen 39-year-old is an influence whether he starts or comes off the bench.
On from the off in round one, it'll be no surprise if that's the case against the Blues again on Sunday.
It's just under four years since these sides last met and it was United who ran out as winners here at Brunton Park. Nicky Adams set the Blues on their way in the first half, and Nial Mason put the ball into his own net to double the advantage with five minutes left to go. Tommy Rowe got a late consolation for the away side deep into time added on.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The visit to the Keepmoat earlier that season had seen the Blues battle their way to a 2-2 draw. Shaun Miller drew first blood, but Tommy Rowe and John Marquis struck to put Donny ahead leading into the break. The Cumbrians came out all guns firing and they got their reward when Jabo Ibehre levelled things up late in the day.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Referee - Scott Oldham
Assistant Referee 1 - Chris Isherwood
Assistant Referee 2 - Paul Newhouse
Fourth Official - David Mcnamara
The referee for this game is Mr Scott Oldham. Scott has taken charge of 11 games so far this season and has shown 19 yellow cards and no reds.
We met Mr Oldham in October 2019 for our home defeat at the hands of Northampton. Two second half goals left the Bkues with nothing to show from that had been a dour game, but there were no United names taken on the day.
He was also here at Brunton Park for our home game against Crawley Town during the 2018/19 season. The Blues romped to a four-goal lead courtesy of Nathan Thomas (2), Callum O'Hare and Hallam Hope, but the Red Devils pulled two back either side of the break to make things slightly more interesting. There were no Carlisle names taken on the day.
Prior to that he was our man in the middle for our 2-0 defeat at the hands of MK Dons. Early second half goals for Jordan Houghton and Kieran Agard were followed by bookings for Regan Slater and Macaulay Gillesphey.
Earlier that season he was here at Brunton Park for the game against Stevenage in September. A Ben Kennedy goal early in the second half was enough to give the Boro a one-goal victory, and Hallam Hope's was the only Carlisle name taken on the day.
He was at Brunton Park on three occasions during the 2017/18 campaign, the first in September when we drew 1-1 with Barnet. Shaun Miller scored our late equaliser, with just five minutes left to play, and it was a game where the notebook stayed firmly in the pocket.
We saw him again at the end of December when Coventry were the visitors to Carlisle. Danny Grainger and Jamie Devitt went in the book as Marc McNulty bagged a second half winner.
His last trip to see us in the last campaign was for our 2-0 victory over Grimsby. Hallam Hope and Mark Ellis scored the goals and Clint Hill was the only yellow card shown on the day.
This is a behind closed doors fixture.
The game is available to watch via BBC Digital Platforms, and is live via the BBC Red Button.
Live commentary of this match has not yet started.
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