Crawley vs Carlisle preview
Friday 21 December 2018 11:40, UK
Crawley will have Mark Connolly back in contention for Saturday's Sky Bet League Two game with Carlisle.
Central defender Connolly has missed the last three matches with a torn hamstring but has returned to training and is expected to feature. Striker Ollie Palmer is in the middle of a three-match suspension following his red card against Northampton on December 8.
Versatile Frenchman Romain Vincelot, an unused substitute for the last two games, could make his first appearance since November 13 after recovering from a twisted ankle.
Carlisle will assess Macaulay Gillesphey ahead of the game at Broadfield Stadium. Defender Gillesphey is a doubt after suffering a knock to his knee.
Manager John Sheridan has no other fresh selection concerns and is likely to keep faith with the players who beat Colchester 4-0 last weekend. Midfielder Jason Kennedy, who has not featured since October 2017, is still a few weeks away from returning following a pelvis operation.
Opta stats
Since beating Carlisle 2-0 in their first ever meeting, Crawley are winless in each of their last nine league encounters with the Cumbrians, drawing five and losing the other four.
Carlisle are unbeaten in each of their previous league trips to Crawley, drawing three and winning two of their five visits, including a 1-0 victory there last season.
Crawley Town have lost five of their last six League Two games (W1), failing to score at all in four of those outings.
Carlisle United have lost two of their last five League Two away games (W1 D2) - as many losses in the league as their previous 13 matches away from home (W8 D3).
After scoring five goals in his first five league games this season, Crawley's Ollie Palmer has scored four in his last 14.
