League 2 
Carlisle will be aiming to get back to winning ways this weekend as they host Colchester United at Brunton Park on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts still occupy third place in the League Two table, having picked up 52 points from their 31 league games so far this campaign. The Blues are without a win in their last three outings, as they have recorded defeats agains Harrogate and Mansfield and recorded a draw against Wimbledon.
It was a night to forget on Tuesday night as Carlisle hosted Mansfield at Brunton Park. Mansfield fired themselves towards the League Two automatic promotion places with an emphatic 4-0 win against woeful Carlisle.
First half goals from captain Ollie Clarke, Alfie Kilgour, Lucas Akins and Elliott Hewitt condemned Paul Simpson's men to back-to-back home defeats for the first time in a year at home.
Despite leading the league in goals scored, having netted 48 times in their 31 league outings, a lack of goals has been Carlisle’s undoing in recent weeks. The Blues have failed to score in their last three outings despite a number of clear chances.
Colchester have managed to distance themselves from the ensuing League Two relegation scrap and currently find themselves in 16th place in the table. The U’s have amassed 35 points from their 32 league games following 9 wins, 8 draws and 15 defeats.
Matt Bloomfield’s side come into this weekend on the back of their best form of the campaign, which has seen them go five league games without defeat. This has included vital victories against the likes of Grimsby and Hartlepool.
On Tuesday evening, Colchester United made it five away victories on the spin in League Two with a gutsy 1-0 success over Grimsby Town at Blundell Park. Tom Hopper settled the scores with a close-range header in the first half as the Essex side leapfrogged their opponents into 16th position in the standings.
Carlisle have really struggled in this fixture in recent meetings and have only recorded one win in the last eight encounters. In that time, there have been three Colchester victories and four draws. This is often a tight matchup, with each of the last five meetings being decided by a goal or less.
In the reverse fixture at the start of the campaign, Colchester and Carlisle had to settle for a point apiece after playing out an entertaining 1-1 draw. Colchester took a 19th-minute lead when Noah Chilvers collected Luke Hannant's pass and drilled a fine shot into the far corner of the net. The Cumbrians deservedly equalised in the 44th minute when Dennis glanced home a superb header, following Owen Moxon's excellent cross from the left.
Unsurprisingly, given the respective league positions of these sides, it is Carlisle who are home favourites ahead of this weekend @ 21/20, whilst an away win for Colchester is currently priced @ 5/2. Carlisle striker Kristian Dennis is the favourite to score at anytime during the match @ 7/4.
We are backing under 2.5 goals as both of these sides have struggled to score in recent weeks. In these side’s last five games, only 30% have ended with over 2.5 goals. Furthermore, this is often a cagey affair and we believe that there will be few goals.