Aiming to end the season on a high despite relegation already confirmed, Carlisle United will welcome Wycombe Wanderers to Brunton Park on Saturday afternoon in League One.
The Cumbrians suffered a narrow defeat at home to Blackpool last time out, whilst the Chairboys were able to collect three points from a trip to Port Vale.
Match preview
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After securing an unlikely promotion to League One during the 2022-23 following their last-gasp success in the League Two playoffs, Carlisle United know that they will be heading straight back down to the fourth tier due to their poor run of results over the course of the term.
The Cumbrians have only won one of their last four matches in the third tier, and last time out they were unable to earn any points from the visit of promotion-chasing Blackpool, who netted the only goal of the League One contest through former Celtic wonderkid Karamoko Dembele.
Having tasted victory in just two of their last 10 third-tier matches, Paul Simpson's side unsurprisingly sit at the bottom of the League One standings ahead of their penultimate match of the 2023-24 campaign, a sizeable 13 points behind Burton Albion in the relative safety of 20th.
Unlike during their promotion-winning campaign of 2022-23, Carlisle have struggled for consistent goalscorers in League One this campaign, with central midfielder Jordan Gibson currently leading the club's Golden Boot race with just seven strikes in 38 third-tier appearances.
In truth, the Cumbrians' record at Brunton Park has simply not been good enough to give United a chance of preserving their third-tier status, with Simpson's troops managing three wins and 15 points from 22 League One matches in front of their loyal supporters.
Unlike Saturday's hosts, Wycombe Wanderers are in no danger of leaving League One at the end of the season - either upwards or downwards - with the visitors occupying 12th place in the table, 15 points behind the playoffs and 17 points ahead of 21st-placed Cheltenham Town.
However, there has been a good deal of disappointment for the Chairboys over recent weeks, most notably during a final appearance at London's iconic Wembley Stadium on April 7, when Wycombe lost the EFL Trophy final to Darren Ferguson's Championship-chasing Peterborough United.
The Wembley contest was heading towards extra time after Wycombe's Dale Taylor netted an 89th-minute equaliser following Harrison Burrows's opener for the Posh, but Peterborough's full-back secured his brace in added-on time, sending Matt Bloomfield's men home empty-handed.
Since that defeat in the showpiece match versus Posh, Wycombe have managed to go unbeaten in three League One matches, drawing to Derby County before recording back-to-back away wins over Shrewsbury Town and Port Vale as the Chairboys look to end their campaign on a positive note.
Scoring only his third League One goal of the term, David Wheeler put Bloomfield's troops ahead at Vale Park before Ethan Chislett's equaliser, but the visitors fought back to reclaim maximum points, with Nigel Lonwijk finding the net late on.
Team News
Carlisle are expected to be without the services of midfielder Jack Robinson, who was forced off after just 17 minutes versus Blackpool last time out.
The Cumbrians will therefore require a new face in the engine room on Saturday, with Jayden Harris and Jack Diamond potential candidates to enter the XI.
After being relatively solid versus the Seasiders, Simpson should stick with a back three of Sam Lavelle, Paul Huntington and Benjamin Barclay.
After providing the match-winning assist off the bench at Port vale, attacker Richard Kone will be pushing for a berth in the Wycombe XI on the weekend.
Bloomfield could opt to make some alterations to his forward line, with the likes of Taylor, Kieran Sadlier and former Burnley man Sam Vokes potentially dropping to the bench.
Carlisle United possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Ellis, Lavelle, Huntington, Barclay, Armer; Harris, Neal, Mellish; Armstrong, Kelly
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Ravizzoli; Grimmer, Forino-Joseph, Tafazolli, Lonwijk; Butcher, Leahy, Wheeler, Taylor, Kone; Vokes
We say: Carlisle United 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers
With relegation already confirmed, Wycombe are cruising towards the season's end, and we are expecting another limp performance from the Cumbrians on the weekend.
The Chairboys are continuing to push on following their EFL Trophy heartbreak earlier in the month, and we reckon that they will pick up a third straight win at Brunton Park.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
