United's first festive fixture is the home game against Bolton Wanderers on Boxing Day.
This is one of those occasions where we'll be welcoming 2,000 fans into our socially distanced stadium - which is fantastic - but there's no doubt it could easily have been five or six times that number had things been different with the pandemic.
Bolton head to Brunton Park in mid-table and looking to push on following last season's turmoil which, obviously, culminated in relegation to League Two.
Former-Barrow boss Ian Evatt was recruited to steady the ship and get it moving forward again, and the pre-season recruitment drive certainly signalled a definite intent.
Head of football operations Tobias Phoenix left the club a fortnight ago, just ten months into his new post having made the switch from Macclesfield at the start of this year, with the knock-on from that being that Evatt now carries the new title of 'manager' having previously been head coach.
December has been a tough month for the Wanderers with three defeats from the four games they've played. Their victory at Cheltenham two weeks ago came courtesy of an injury time scrambled finish from defender Ryan Delaney, who pounced when others were rooted to the spot.
Seven league wins suggests that Bolton can be a potent force on their day, but with some big signings amongst their number they'll be keen to make 2021 a much better year.
Faces well known to United fans include Brandon Comley, Gethin Jones, Shaun Miller (currently injured) and Tom White, but the starting eleven holds a number of potential permutations.
Striker Eoin Doyle is the obvious shout as the man to watch and, with eight goals to his name, he's been backed up by Nathan Delfouneso and Antoni Sarcevic who have weighed in with 10 goals between them.
Doyle, who helped to blast Swindon to promotion with a stunning scoring streak, is a mobile forward who will cause all kinds of problems if given the space and time to do so.
Bolton will be stung following last Saturday's defeat, so expect them to come sprinting out of the blocks.
Click HERE to purchase a match pass which will allow you to watch this game in full HD via our streaming iFollow service.
With match commentary also provided by BBC Radio Cumbria, this is a fantastic way to follow your team through these unprecedented behind closed doors fixtures.
Match passes are available for ALL EFL league games during this restricted attendance period. Click HERE to find out more about this season’s iFollow United service.
Our handy 'How To' guide for season ticket holders and match pass purchasers is HERE.
All season ticket holders who are unable to attend the game will, by now, have had their email addresses activated to allow free access to HOME GAMES ONLY [unless you chose not to do so]. This service is for eligible season ticket holders only.
Referee - Ross Joyce
Assistant Referee 1 - Graeme Fyvie
Assistant Referee 2 - Anthony Moore
Fourth Official - Simon Clayton
Our referee for this game is Mr Ross Joyce.
He has taken charge of 15 games so far this season showing 60 yellow cards and two reds.
We last had him as our match official in October, for our 3-1 home win over Morecambe. Jon Mellish and George Tanner added to an own goal from Songo'o as the Bues ran out as convincing 3-1 victors, and Joe Riley was the only home yellow to be shown.
Prior to that he was with us in March 2019 for our long away trip to Rodney Parade. Goals either side of the break sunk the Blues, and Anthony Gerrard had his name taken on the day.
He was in Cumbria for our December 2019 2-1 home win over Macclesfield. Hallam Hope and Jerry Yates scored our goals and Gerrard, Devitt and Yates were the Carlisle names which went in the book.
The first time we saw him that same season was for the Carabao Cup meeting with Blackburn Rovers in August. Hallam Hope scored United's goal, but it was an emphatic win for Rovers on the night as braces from Bradley Dack and Adam Armstrong were complemented by a neat finish from Kasey Palmer. Kelvin Etuhu was the only Carlisle yellow card shown.
Information for those attending this game is HERE.
