Top meets bottom in League One this weekend with the seemingly doomed Carlisle United playing hosts to the league leaders Portsmouth at Brunton Park with Pompey now sitting four points clear of Derby County.
After a few years struggling down in League One, Portsmouth have finally got fans dreaming of a return to the Championship. Their position in first place, however, is under threat with just a four-point gap on Derby and with the Rams having a game in hand. They also have played three more games than Bolton's tally, and the Greater Manchester side by behind them by only five points.
Nevertheless, there is a massive gap of 12 points on those outside of the playoff spots, so if Portsmouth were to fail to get in the top six at least, it would be nothing short of a disaster.
The club returned to winning ways last time out by defeating Northampton Town after a blip in form. Tom McIntyre was sent off that day, but a brace from Paddy Lane and a goal each from Callum Lang and Connor Oglivie sealed all three points for them.
Portsmouth did draw 2-2 with Oxford United before that with a goal each from Lang and Colby Bishop, while they also managed to defeat Fleetwood and Port Vale in back-to-back 1-0 away wins. This does mean a four-game unbeaten run for the league leaders, but losses to Cheltenham Town and Leyton Orient earlier in the year have invited the likes of Derby and Bolton right into the title mixture.
Carlisle are sitting rock bottom of League One in what is their first campaign back in the third tier for over a decade. The last-placed side have lost all of their past five games in a row and have only one victory on the board in 2024 so far after a 2-1 win over Port Vale - Jon James Alexander Mellish scored that day alongside a penalty from Jordan Gibson.
Since then, however, The Brunton Park faithful have seen them lose 3-1 to Oxford United and 4-1 to Bolton Wanderers, while the club have managed to also suffer away defeats to Barnsley, Leyton Orient and Exeter. Carlisle have still managed to score in each of those games, however, and sit with 26 goals on the board. On the other hand, a stunning tally of 18 defeats mean no side across all of the Football League has more losses this season.