By Joe Jones
Head to head
Carlisle United and Notts County have met 33 times since their first clash back in October 1959, a Fourth Division clash that was won 2-0 by the Cumbrians.
Out of those, the Magpies have won 17 and lost 12, with just four draws.
Our last meeting was on 21 October last year, the first League Two fixture between the two this season, which ended in a 1-1 draw as Ryan Yates's 58th-minute goal cancelled out Hallam Hope's first-half opener.
Stats
The Magpies have managed just one win in their previous five league meetings with the Cumbrians, this after winning five of the previous six.
Carlisle have won back-to-back trips to Notts by an aggregate score line of 8-2, their best ever run there in the Football League.
Jorge Grant has had a hand in 19 goals in League Two this season - only two players have been involved in more, Adebayo Akinfenwa and Billy Kee.
Carlisle are yet to win an away match in all competitions in 2018, losing 4-3 at Wycombe Wanderers in their last away match.
History
The club was formed on 17 May 1904 at Shaddongate United's annual general meeting, where the club's members voted to change the team's name to Carlisle United.
The newly formed club initially played at Milhome Bank and later at Devonshire Park, finally settling at their current home Brunton Park in 1909.
In 1949, the club became the first to appoint Bill Shankly as manager. Shankly, a former player at Carlisle, later went on to manage local rivals Workington (helping them finish above Carlisle for the first time) before being appointed as manager of Liverpool in 1959.
The Cumbrians have spent a season in the top flight, back in 1974-75, and recorded a double over Everton, as well as home victories over eventual champions Derby County, former titleholders Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers. They were relegated at the end of the season though.
Despite their small stature, the club has experienced moderate success with regards to silverware – they have won a Third Division title back in 1965, two fourth-tier championships in 1995 and 2006, and two Football League Trophies, back in 1997 and 2011.
Trivia
Carlisle staged their 'home' fixture against Notts at Preston North End's Deepdale stadium in December 2015 due to floods in Cumbria which impacted on Brunton Park as well.
Carlisle is one of the northernmost clubs in the Football League, just 10 miles from the Scottish border, and one that’s normally mentioned among the most difficult away days – talk of “Carlisle away” is one for the most hardcore fans, especially in midweek (Newcastle United are further north than Carlisle, however).
Carlisle is the smallest location, by population, to have had a resident top-flight English football club since 1906. Prior to this, Accrington FC, Darwen, Grimsby Town & Glossop North End were smaller.
Carlisle are famous for one of the most dramatic Great Escape scenarios in all of English football, when on-loan goalkeeper Jimmy Glass scored in the last 10 seconds of their final game of the 1998-99 season against Plymouth Argyle to keep the Cumbrians in the Football League at the expense of Scarborough.
Team news
On-loan striker Mason Bennett will be unavailable for the foreseeable future after coming off in the first half of the 1-0 loss to Barnet with a hamstring problem.
Kevin Nolan admitted that a virus is currently sweeping through the Notts camp and rendering players unwell, joking that "every 24 hours we're getting two players back but losing another two".
Elliott Hewitt missed County's previous two games with illness but may potentially have shaken it off.
Carlisle boss Curle has reported no new injury or suspension concerns as he prepares to face his former club.
Skipper Danny Grainger missed Saturday's home draw against Colchester United and it remains to be seen if he returns to contention.
Tom Parkes will continue at left-back if Grainger is ruled out again, with Gary Liddle set to continue as captain in central defence alongside Clint Hill.
Reggie Lambe, Richie Bennett and John O'Sullivan are pushing for recalls after stepping off the bench at the weekend.
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