Mansfield Town vs Carlisle United
Player manager Adam Murray is hoping his side improve from their 21st place finish from last season, the Stags only finished 2 points above the relegation places. There have been wholesale changes at Field Mill over the summer with 7 departures including Ollie Palmer (Leyton Orient), Junior Brown (Shrewsbury), Rakish Bingham (Hartlepool), Liam Heard, Lee Beevers and Matt Rhead (Lincoln). Murray has recruited well on paper adding players with experience which will hopefully see them push up the table: Chris Beardsley (Stevenage), Craig Westcarr (Portsmouth), Scott Shearer (Crewe), Matt Green (Birmingham), Brian Jensen (Crawley).
- 35 of 48 points came at home last season – 10 out of 13 wins
- Scored the least goals in the league with 38 – 24 came at home
- Only failed to score in 5 of their home games
Carlisle will be looking to build on their poor season with Keith Curle having his first pre season with his side. Curle was appointed last September but with a full summer of recruitment behind him, he will hoping for better this season. With large numbers of departures over 14 have left Brunton Park including Kyle Dempsey (Huddersfield), Brad Potts (Blackpool), Billy Paynter (Hartlepool). Curle has brought in 12 players already this window to shape his squad ahead of the campaign: Alex McQueen (Tottenham), Bastien Henry (Rochdale), Jason Kennedy (Bradford), Angelo Balanta (Bristol Rovers), Jabo Ibehre (Colchester).
- Struggled away with only 18 of 50 points away from home – 5 out of 14 wins on travels
- Only netted 21 goals away – failed to score in 10 away games
- 1 win in last 8 on travels
Head to Head: 70 meetings – Mansfield 26, Carlisle 29, Draw 15
Last meeting – 31st January 2015 – Carlisle 2-1 Mansfield
- Carlisle 1 loss in last 5 meetings
- Carlisle last won at Field Mill – 3-2 in 2004
Prediction – Mansfield 0-1 Carlisle
