A run of three games unbeaten has seen Crawley secure their League Two status with time to spare and they certainly won't be making the long journey north just to roll over and give the points away.
A tough set of results through February and March had left the Red Devilslooking over their shoulders, but back-to-back away victories against Yeovil Town and Exeter City got well rid of any lingering doubts as they came out of the Easter period with smiles on their faces.
Ollie Palmer [16] and Filipe Morais [7] have 23 goals between them, but there are threats all over the park in a side that has started to play with confidence.
For United, of course, there is no grey area. Three points are needed if the play-off dream is to be kept alive and there'll be more then one eye checking on results elsewhere as one of the most fascinating days of the season unfolds.
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Manager’s thoughts ...
Speaking ahead of the weekend game, the manager said: "This is a game we go into knowing exactly what needs to be done. It's been very frustrating for us recently because we have been given opportunities, because of results elsewhere, and we just haven't managed to take them.
"We're now in a situation where we have to keep the pressure on the sides around us, and the only way to do that is to win our remaining games.
"If we do that, and if there are slip-ups elsewhere, then at least we will be in a situation where we will take advantage.
"Crawley may be talked about as a team that has nothing to play for but that is never the case. Professional footballers have a winning mentality and they will want to come here and do a job for their own reasons.
"That's why it's down to us to make sure we deal with the game and the pressure that comes with it, and that we get the right result. That's the only way that we can make sure we'll be involved in the battle for promotion."
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Did You Know?
+ Crawley managed to stay in the Conference despite receiving point deductions in three of their seven seasons in the league.
+ The Red Devils reached the Fifth Round of the FA Cup in 2010, where they were narrowly beaten by Manchester United at Old Trafford.
+ Sean O’Driscoll was appointed Crawley manager in 2012, but left after only four days to take over at Nottingham Forest.
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Head to Head
These sides have met on a total of 13 occasions over the years, with the Red Devils having only notched up two victories to their name thus far.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | Crawley wins | |
| League | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| Total | 6 | 5 | 2 |
Our trip to Sussex for this campaign came in December - with aircraft at nearby Gatwick Airport grounded because of an ongoing rogue drone problem. A ding-dong battle saw Jerry Yates, Jack Sowerby and Danny Grainger cancel out a first half brace from Dominic Poleon.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
We went to Crawley in September last season and, having weathered an onslaught through the first half, where the Red Devils created numerous chances, we struck after the break when Nicky Adams curled a beauty of a cross to the back post. Hallam Hope lost his man and thundered a great header into the back of the net. It was ultimately the goal that won the game.
Watch the highlights from that game here ...
Back up at Brunton Park in March and the Blues opened the scoring with a thundering and unstoppable volley from Richie Bennett from the angle of the 18-yard box early in the game. United doubled their advantage in the second half when a scramble inside the six-yard area was finished off by a header from Hallam Hope. Karlan Grant wiped the smiles off home faces when he drilled a shot in from just inside the area a few minutes later, and the same player earned his team a point when a 20-yard shot somehow squirmed past keeper Jack Bonham with just under 10 minutes left to play.
Watch the highlights from that game here ...
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Man in the middle
Our referee for this game is Mr Scott Oldham. He has taken charge of 32 games this season and has shown 95 yellow cards and just the one red.
We last saw him at stadium:mk for our 2-0 defeat at the hands of MK Dons. Early secind half goals for Jordan Houghton and Kieran Agard were followed by bookings for Regan Slater and Macaulay Gillesphey.
Prior to that, 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 last season - the first in September 2017 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.
Referee – Scott Oldham
Assistant Referee 1 – Chris Isherwood
Assistant Referee 2 – Geoffrey Liddle
Fourth Official – Richard Aspinall
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Ticket information
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