Fifth hosts fourth in an eye-catching League Two battle on Saturday afternoon, as Carlisle United meet fellow promotion hopefuls Barrow.
Paul Simpson's side played out a 1-1 draw with Sutton United in their most recent battle, while the visitors' patchy spell continued as they were thumped 5-0 by Stevenage.
Match preview
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Simpson was left less than impressed after watching his side fail to hold onto a one-goal lead against Sutton last Saturday, as Ryan Edmondson's header was cancelled out by a Will Randall effort just before the break to force a share of the spoils.
The Carlisle boss lamented his side's inability to fashion chances in a "very stop-start" game of football, but the Cumbrians' playoff destiny is still in their own hands as they lie fifth in the standings with 33 points from their first 20 games of the new term.
Victories since the middle of October have been difficult for Carlisle to come by, as they have only prevailed in three of their 10 games in all tournaments, having previously strung together a nine-match unbeaten streak in all competitions earlier in the autumn.
Nevertheless, a five-game unbeaten streak in the fourth tier is a solid foundation from which to build upon, and while Carlisle have failed to win any of their last three home games in League Two, defeats have been commonplace for their upcoming visitors recently.
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Barrow were only 1-0 down at half time in last weekend's clash with Stevenage courtesy of a Jake Reeves goal, but the floodgates opened after the break, as Jamie Reid, Daniel Sweeney and Luke Norris all got in on the act alongside a Tyrell Warren own goal.
Going down 5-0 to the second-placed side marked a fourth defeat in five for the out-of-sorts Barrow, whose manager Pete Wild labelled the result a "disaster" after a catalogue of errors from his team "gifted" Stevenage their glut of goals.
Wild did not believe that his side were outgunned by Stevenage, rather they were the masters of their own downfall, but they still sit in a healthy fourth place in the table, one point clear of Carlisle, Bradford City and Mansfield Town and five adrift of Northampton Town in the final automatic promotion place.
Two of Barrow's five recent defeats have come in the EFL Trophy and FA Cup, but that does little to mask the Bluebirds' dire performances away from home, as they are now winless in six road matches in succession - losing five of them.
Carlisle and Barrow have already met in the EFL Trophy this term, where the Bluebirds claimed a 2-0 victory to end a 10-game run without victory over the Cumbrians stretching back to 1960.
Team News
Carlisle did not sustain any fresh injury concerns in the draw with Sutton, but centre-back Ben Barclay missed that game after picking up an ankle injury in training, which could rule him out for approximately four weeks.
Barclay joins Fin Back and Morgan Feeney on the sidelines, with the former needing four months to recover from hamstring surgery, but Corey Whelan and Callum Guy were both passed fit to start last weekend.
Jamie Devitt was also given the green light to come off the bench after coming back from a thigh injury, and the 32-year-old could now provide an alternative option to Jordan Gibson up top.
As for Barrow, Chelsea loanee Sam McClelland and midfielder Robbie Gotts were both absent from the defeat to Stevenage, and it is unclear if the pair will be able to make their returns on Saturday.
Striker David Moyo was also absent from the squad to face Stevenage for unexplained reasons, but Wild still has an option for change up front in the form of Richie Bennett.
The 31-year-old has now come off the bench in four successive matches since recovering from a lengthy layoff, but displacing 10-goal Josh Gordon will be a difficult ask.
Carlisle United possible starting lineup:
Holy; Whelan, Mellish, Huntington; Ellis, Moxon, Guy, Armer; Gibson, Dennis, Edmondson
Barrow possible starting lineup:
Farman; Warren, Ray, Canavan, Brough; Whitfield, Foley, Neal, Kay; Waters; Gordon
We say: Carlisle United 1-1 Barrow
A cagey affair could be in store between two sides separated by just one point in the standings, and neither crop of players have covered themselves in glory recently.
Barrow should give themselves a fighting chance of avoiding yet another defeat on the road if they can cut out the individual errors, but Carlisle may have to accept another point on their own territory.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
