Carlisle United are back in League One for the first time in a decade as they meet with Fleetwood Town on matchday one with the away side aiming to put together a decent run of form after a tough 2022/23.
Carlisle edged past Stockport County on the bare margins of a penalty shootout back in May after a 1-1 draw saw the club take the lead at first. The would also beat Bradford City 3-1 in the second leg after extra time, as they lost the return leg 1-0 to the Bantams.
Nevertheless, it was a positive season across the board from start to finish for Carlisle with the club winning 20 of their 46 games and losing only 10 times - only those in the top three lost fewer games. The club would also go on to score 66 goals and let in 43 and finish only six points behind the automatic promotion spots.
As for Fleetwood, they struggled in League One and finished with only 14 wins from 46 games, losing 16 and drawing 16 more. Worse yet, they let in as many goals as they conceded with 51 going in at either end, and while relegation never seemed on the cards, neither did a spot in the playoffs either.
In fact, Fleetwood struggled to get into the top half of the table for the most part and ended up finishing one point behind Shrewsbury Town in 12th.