United are at Walsall on Saturday looking to earn the right to take their place in the Emirates FA Cup third-round draw.
Mid-table Walsall were with us just a fortnight ago for what was a largely forgettable 0-0 stalemate.
Their current run of form is impressive, however, with four wins and two draws from their last six games.
One of those victories was the 2-0 away success at Wycombe in the first round of this competition, a deserved end result by all accounts.
They have a mean defence, just 17 league goals conceded is testament to that, with a sticky start to the season all but forgotten.
The Saddlers won their first away game of the season, down in Newport, but that is their only success on the road in league action to date this term.
They embarked on a worrying run of 12 games in all competitions without a win not long after that but, with players returning and the squad bolstered, much better results have followed.
Forward Danny Johnson has 12 goals from 24 appearances having exploded out of the blocks with six from his first five games this season.
That included a hat-trick in an opening day 4-0 home win over Hartlepool, a fine way to introduce himself following his summer move from Mansfield.
He set alarm bells ringing this week when he spoke about being unsure about his future beyond January.
His winner against Crawley took him to the dozen, but his post-match comments weren't as reassuring as they might otherwise have been.
"I'm enjoying my time here, but in football things happen and sometimes it's not up to you," he told the local radio.
"I just want to keep focusing on my football because I don't want to get distracted by anything. The manager knows I'm happy at this moment in time."
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With match commentary provided by BBC Radio Cumbria, this is a fantastic way to follow your team through the season.
Match audio passes are available for ALL EFL league games - click HERE to find out more about this season’s iFollow United service.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | Walsall wins | |
| League | 19 | 20 | 22 |
| League Cup | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 20 | 20 | 24 |
November's 2022 meeting at Brunton Park was by no means a classic, with the teams slugging their way to a 0-0 draw.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The Good Friday April 2022 away game was a very tight game, and a goal on the strike of half-time from Jack Earing proved to be enough to keep the points in the Midlands.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
United nicked a late goal and all three points thanks to Tristan Abrahams at Brunton Park in November 2021. It could have gone either way, but it was the Blues who crept over the line.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Carlisle rounded off the 2020/21 season with a home game against Walsall and it was a very tight 0-0 draw which brought the curtains down on the campaign.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
United were first-footers at the Bescot in January 2021 and they recorded a comfortable away win courtesy of goals from Omari Patrick and Josh Kayode.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Carlisle and Walsall met at the end of January in 2020 and they recorded a second consecutive 2-1 victory with Nick Anderton and Ryan Loft putting the hosts two goals to the good in the first half. Mat Sadler pegged one back, but United held on to claim the points.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
United were at the Bescot Stadium for the 2019 festive period - just two days before the turn of the year. Winger Nathan Thomas gave the Blues the lead just after the break, but the home side drew level when Elijah Adebayo netted with 20 minutes left to play. James Clarke was given his marching orders for a tug on Harry McKirdy, and the Cumbrians increased the pressure until they got their match winning strike.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The April 2014 encounter at Brunton Park was a tense affair. It appeared that an early opening goal from Liam Noble was going to do the trick for the Cumbrians but Michael Ngoo struck late to make it a share of the spoils.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
We were at the Bescot in December 2013 earlier in that campaign and, having hit the woodwork and missed a penalty, the game was lost courtesy of strikes for the home side from Romaine Sawyers and Milan Lalkovic.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Referee - Scott Oldham
Assistant Referee 1 - Ollie Williams
Assistant Referee 2 - Paul Stonier
Fourth Official - Neil Pratt
Observer - Paul Rejer
Coach - Keren Barratt
The referee for this game is Mr Scott Oldham. Scott has taken charge of 17 games so far this season and has shown 54 yellow cards and no reds.
We saw him in November 2021 for our 1-0 home win over Walsall. Tristan Abrahams popped up with a late winner after the teams had gone toe to toe for much of the encounter. Jack Armer and Callum Guy were both booked on the day.
He was at Brunton Park in February 2021 for what was an action packed game with Tranmere. Josh Kayode and Nick Anderton scored in the first half for United, with Kayne Woolery and James Vaughan doing the same for the visitors. No quarter was given in the second period, but it was the away side who took the points when Vaughan struck again with just two minutes left to play. There were no Carlisle names taken on the night.
He was with us in November 2020 for our FA Cup second round game against Doncaster Rovers. Ben Whiteman put the visitors two goals to the good before half time, but Jon Mellish kept things interesting when he gave United hope with 12 minutes to go. Donny saw it out to win 2-1. Josh kayode was the only booking of the afternoon.
We also met Mr Oldham in October 2019 for our home defeat at the hands of Northampton. Two second half goals left the Blues with nothing to show from what 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.
Ticket prices
Adult - £15.
Senior [over 60] - £10.
Junior [under 18] - £5.
Tickets will go on sale from the Pioneer ticket office at 10am on Tuesday 15 November. Tickets will go off sale at 4pm on Thursday 24 November.
Ticket prices will not increase on the day of the game.
You can purchase your tickets in-person here at our main ticket office during office hours (Pioneer Stand), online by clicking HERE, or over the phone by ringing 0330 094 5930 (option 1).