Carlisle United Football Club

You don't need us to tell you that this was the "fixture that wasn't" last season.

The kit was packed and ready to be loaded on the team bus, the lads were heading in to work and ready for the journey, but the Covid-19 crisis was about to strike in earnest, with the EFL rightly making the decision to suspend all football fixtures that March weekend.

But that was then, and this is now, and Grimsby have overcome their own recent coronavirus issues to turn a sluggish start to the season into a decent run of form. 

An opening day defeat at Walsall was followed by a very disappointing home reverse at the hands of Salford who, in what became a bizarre game, were awarded three penalties - all of which were duly despatched. 

An away draw at Bolton was a welcome start to October, and the first victory came when Owura Edwards, James Tilley and Owen Windsor scored the goals at Cheltenham to see the Mariners throught to a deserved 3-1 win.

Another thriller last weekend saw Montel Gibson keep his cool to bag an injury time penalty winner down at Leyton Orient, with the sides having been deadlocked at 2-2 in the run-up to full time.

They hosted Harrogate on Tuesday night, and two goals from Jack Muldoon for the visitors proved to be enough, despite the fact that James Tilley had equalised within a minute of Muldoon's opening strike.

The spread of goals across the team through these early fixtures suggests that Grimsby have a dynamic and fluid method of attack, but we've gone for West Brom's rising star Owen Windsor as our man to watch.  

The youngster is in on-loan from the Baggies, recruited just two weeks ago, and he's already amde an impact by getting his name on the scoresheet and in the assists column.

Tipped for a bright future, he'll be looking to build on his good start at Blundell Park.

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 this unprecedented behind closed doors period.

Match passes are available for ALL EFL league games. Click HERE to find out more about this season’s iFollow United service.

These two sides have met on a total of 46 occasions over the years - going all the way back to the 1907/08 campaign when the Mariners registered a 6-2 FA Cup home victory over the fledgling Blues.

Grimsby hold the bragging rights by some considerable margin, with 24 victories compared to United's 11. 

The last time the teams met was at Brunton Park in December 2019. Both sides slugged it out, but it was clean sheets all round as the spoils were shared.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

It was a sunny Bank Holiday Monday at Blundell Park in April 2019, and the game appeared to heading to a draw until Joe Grayson grabbed a winner deep into time added on.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

United were left empty-handed at Brunton Park in October earlier in that season as a first half goal from Luke Hendrie proved to be enough to take the spoils. The Blues had chances, but it wasn't their night as the visitors shut up shop to frustrate the home crowd.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Our November 2017 trip to Blundell Park saw United give as good as they got in a tight game. Grimsby shaded the first half with the woodwork and some heroics from Jack Bonham to thank for a clean sheet. The deadlock was eventually broken when defender Clint Hill got on the end of a superb cross from Gary Liddle. 

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Things were more comfortable in the home game with Hallam Hope opening the scoring with just three minutes on the clock. It was the perfect thank you to the fans who had turned up as early as 8am on match day to help to clear snow from the pitch, and the surrounding areas, to allow the game to go ahead. Mark Ellis secured the points with a close range header with just over 15 minutes left to play.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Referee - Christopher Pollard
Assistant Referee 1 - Simon Clayton
Assistant Referee 2 - Stephen Wade
Fourth Official - Conor Brown

Our referee for this game is Mr Christopher Pollard.

He has refereed six games so far this season showing 23 yellow cards and one red.

Having joined the EFL ranks last season, this is the first time he has been the man in the middle for a Carlisle United fixture.

This is a behind closed doors fixture. 

Please see above for details on how to purchase a live streaming match pass to see all of the action on iFollow.