Forest Green face a massive 514-mile round trip to Brunton Park on Tuesday as Mark Cooper’s men prepare to face Carlisle United.
Rovers played out a disappointing 0-0 draw against Cheltenham Town on Saturday as both the Gloucestershire sides continue to push for promotion.
This contest however, has the potential to be a huge game at the top of League Two with Rovers in third place and Carlisle just one place above them in second.
Carlisle find themselves joint level on points with Forest Green, ahead only on goal difference, and have played three less games than the Gloucestershire side.
Forest Green boss Cooper admitted he was excited for the game, as he said: “It’s going to be a good game with two good teams.”
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— Sky Bet League Two (@SkyBetLeagueTwo) January 30, 2021
Here’s how the #SkyBetLeagueTwo table looks after this afternoon’s results! #EFL pic.twitter.com/S1t0llXW1g
Previous Meetings:
Both these teams are fairly familiar with each other – they have met 11 times across all competitions and the match-up is often a tight affair.
There have only been four occasions where one of the sides have scored more than one goal in the game.
Carlisle do come out winners in the head-to-head battle having won five compared to Forest Green’s three.
Despite that, Rovers did come out as 1-0 victors last time the two met earlier in the season.
Form:
Forest Green, despite still being in the automatic promotion spots, have had a fairly rocky January.
Cooper’s men have only managed to claim one victory in their last five games but results around them have meant they haven’t wavered too much in the league rankings.
Carlisle only played twice in January due to postponements but still, like Rovers, remain in a top three spot. They have won three out of their last five – the most recent coming in a 1-0 victory over Exeter on Saturday.
Read more: Cheltenham Town suspend two upcoming League Two fixtures due to positive Covid-19 cases.
Team News:
Luke McGee (thigh) is still a doubt for Forest Green in goal, however with Lewis Thomas keeping back-to-back clean sheets in his last two games he is giving Cooper something to think about in terms of future selection.
Rovers midfielder Ebou Adams will also miss the contest after picking up two yellow cards against Cheltenham.
McGee has missed the last two matches with injury.
Prediction (1-1):
This will be a tight game, both Carlisle and Forest Green have regimented defences and can be effective up at the other end of the pitch as well.
There won’t be a lot in it but this has the potential to be a cracking match up.
