United's second game in the space of just three days is over in Harrogate as the festive fixtures come at us thick and fast.
This is the first time these teams have met, with Harrogate making club history last season when they marched their way into the National League play-offs to give Notts County a bloody nose in the final, having got past Boreham Wood in the semi-final.
Life in the EFL got off to a flying start under the tutelage of Simon Weaver and Paul Thirlwell, with five of their opening seven league fixtures going their way.
A televised away win at Bradford had everybody sitting up to take notice as the Town steamed their way to a comfortable 1-0 win.
November brought a couple of speed bumps, with boss Weaver isolated for 14 days with coronavirus and with the news that defender Will Smith was sidelined for up to 10 weeks with a hamstring injury.
Current form has been sticky, to say the least, with just the 2-1 away win at Exeter to punctuate a run of four league defeats.
The Saturday before Christmas saw them lose at home to Salford, but things got better on Boxing Day when they went to Oldham, where they recorded a decent 2-1 away win.
The August celebrations for promotion to the football league for the first time in their 106-year history will seem some time ago as they continue adjust to life at the higher level, but good summer recruitment has made them a decent team to watch.
Harrogate still have an FA Trophy final to play against Concord Rangers - if that issue can be resolved - having beaten Notts County in the semis.
That wasn't without controversy as the Magpies argued that Harrogate, having been promoted, shouldn't be allowed to continue in the competition. That claim was quickly swept aside.
Jack Muldoon is in fine form with nine goals and four assists to his name and he gets the nod as our man to watch.
Goals are spread around the pitch, with our very own Mark Beck, along with Jon Stead, good examples of players who are ready to chip in.
Muldoon, though, is hard to mark and works well in the final third, making him one we'll have to deal with on the night.
It goes without saying that it'll be good to see Thir again. The former club captain played over 250 games for the Blues in a near nine-year stay, lifting the trophy at Wembley in 2011 when the club won the JPT.
He also had a spell as caretaker manager, beside Tony Caig, just before Keith Curle took the reins during the 2014/15 season.
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.
Over 1,000 fans subscribe to this service for our away games - don't miss out ... sign up now to back the Blues!
Referee - Martin Coy
Assistant Referee 1 - Scott Williams
Assistant Referee 2 - Stephen Wade
Fourth Official - Robert Madley
The referee for this fixture is Mr Martin Coy.
He's refereed 12 games so far this season showing 26 yellow cards and two reds.
He was last in charge of us for the 3-2 home win over Colchester where goals from Lewi Alessandra and Jon Mellish gave us a two-goal cushion. The U's pegged us back with goals either side of the break, but Aaron Hayden sealed a deserved win with a late goal. Callum Guy, Jon Mellish and Joe Riley were booked on the afternoon.
We also had him for our 3-0 home defeat against Plymouth in January 2020. Aaron Hayden was sent off in the final minute of that fixture as tensions ran high.
Prior to that he was here for the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Port Vale back in November 2019.
Ryan Loft put us ahead with just one minute on the clock, but second half goals from Worrall and Cullen took the points the way of the hosts. Loft and Canice Carroll had their names taken on the day.
We saw him twice in the 2018/19 season, with our first meeting for the home defeat against Grimsby in October. The goal came in the first half from Luke Hendrie, but there were no United names entered into the book.
He was back here a month later for the 1-1 Checkatrade Trophy meeting with Stoke City under-21s. Jack Sowerby scored the goal and Gary Liddle was shown a yellow card.
He was with us three times during the 2017/18 season, with his first visit up north coming in August 2017 for our 3-0 home victory over Cheltenham. Tom Miller and Reggie Lambe added to a fifth minute own goal from Harry Pell, and Mark Ellis was the only Carlisle booking on the day.
We saw him again for our November Checkatrade Trophy group game against Fleetwood, where a certain Jack Sowerby opened the scoring on the night. Wes Burns doubled the lead just before half time, and a late Shaun Miller goal did little to affect the outcome as the visitors took the win come full time. Tom Miller and Jamie Devitt received yellow cards that night.
His last trip to Brunton Park during that campaign was for our 2-2 draw with Crawley in March. Richie Bennett and Hallam Hope appeared to have done the job with goals to give us a 2-0 lead, but the Red Devils recovered and claimed their point courtesy of a brace from Kalen Grant. United names taken were Clint Hill, Hallam Hope and Tom Parkes.
Away fans are not permitted at this fixture.
