Braintree Town (Home)
- Braintree Town have won one of their last five games and none of their last two at home.
- Steve Pitt’s Braintree side have been particularly poor in the National League this season, currently occupying 23rd spot with 34 points from 39 games.
Carlisle United (Away)
- Carlisle United have won three of their last five, including a 6-2 victory against Boston United at home.
- Carlisle United have a strong away record in the National League, averaging 1.47 goals per game on their travels.
- The Cumbrians are third in the National League table with 78 points from 39 matches, while their hosts are 44 points worse off.
Head-to-Head
- Pitt sets his team up in a pragmatic, somewhat risk-averse way, with a low, compact defensive block and long balls over the top to the most physical players in the squad.
- Carlisle United, on the other hand, play a higher tempo, higher pressing style, but they control the ball more and look to create overloads using their wingbacks and wide players.
- It should be a fascinating match-up, but there is a clear gulf in quality between these two sides, as Carlisle’s 5-0 home victory over Braintree Town FC seven months ago illustrated.
Key Players
- John Akinde has found a nice scoring rhythm for the home side recently, scoring three of their seven goals in their last five.
- Lewis Walker is their most reliable goal-getter in the National League with seven in 28.
- Regan Linney is the main man for Carlisle, however, with 15 in 36 National League games and they should have enough quality to find the net a couple of times at the weekend.
Betting Insights
However, we’re happy to take that price on the visitors here and we’ll take the over 2.5 goals market at 1.56 and both teams to score at 1.77 for smaller bets.
Prediction
Mark Hughes’ men will win this game and are odds-on at 1.39 to do so, which is a bit on the short side for our tastes.
