Harrogate Town v Carlisle United: Sulphurites aiming to extend home run

The Sulphurites have won three and drawn two of their previous five outings at Wetherby Road, picking up 11 crucial points in their battle for League Two survival and conceding just the two goals in the process.

Town’s manager attributes that upturn in fortunes to the fact that he managed to add power and presence to his squad during the January transfer window, and knows that securing another positive result at the weekend against opposition who are also scrapping away at the wrong end of the table will help them maintain the cushion they have built up between themselves and the bottom two.

"We are delighted with the progress at home,” he said. “It is just about staying up and five unbeaten at home is a good trend to have. Hopefully we can keep it going.

“It didn’t bode well for us in December, so that’s why we tried to take action for the better for the club and for its future by bringing in the new signings.

“I didn’t think there was enough oomph about us and we didn’t have enough technical ability to be able to pass through teams. But we have a bigger physical look about us now and we play with more personality.

“At this stage of the season, with what is at stake, it is not going to be pretty football all the time. It's a battle at both ends of the table, it is a war of attrition more often than not – and we have got a bigger, stronger team, to be able to impose ourselves.”

While Town's home form has been good and seen them beat Accrington and Swindon in their last two outings following on from draws against Crewe and Colchester and a win over Cheltenham, Carlisle have picked up a couple of useful results on their travels in recent weeks.

Their previous away trip saw them register the first victory of the Mark Hughes era, 1-0 against derby rivals Barrow at Holker Street.

Prior to that success, the Cumbrians had failed to win anywhere in six attempts since their 2-1 triumph at Fleetwood on January 25.

United’s record at Harrogate is also poor. They have failed to win on any of their previous five league and cup visits to Wetherby Road, losing four of those matches.

Their most positive result in North Yorkshire was a 3-3 League Two draw in November 2022, while their most recent trip ended in a 1-0 League Cup loss – as a League One outfit – at the start of 2023/24.