Newport County AFC will be looking to continue their formidable home league record when they entertain Carlisle United on Saturday. The Exiles could rise to the summit of the division with three points and other results going their way, while the visitors will just be looking for a morale boosting result which would continue a steady start to the campaign.
Here, you can find all the facts and statistics ahead of this League Two encounter…
How they’ve started the League Two campaign
Such is the competitiveness in League Two this season, Carlisle United’s start to the 2019/20 campaign hasn’t actually been that bad but they currently languish in 16th position having picked up 14 points from 11 matches.
Two victories could see the Cumbrians rise all the way to fifth and they’re only eight points off the summit of the division, following victories over Crawley Town, Scunthorpe United, Stevenage and Oldham Athletic.
Surprisingly, Carlisle have only drawn twice this season against Forest Green Rovers and Salford, while they have suffered defeats against Swindon Town, Mansfield Town, Cheltenham Town, Exeter City and Bradford City.
Team News
Carlisle United manager Steven Pressley will be hoping to be able to call upon Stefan Scougall on Saturday after the midfielder returned to training from an ankle injury earlier this week.
The Cumbrians are also confident on seeing a return for fellow midfielder Jack Bridge so Pressley will have to decide whether to change his side following a victory last time out.
Carlisle United team vs Oldham Athletic (4-3-3): Collin, Elliott, Webster, Knight-Percival, Iredale, Sagaf, M. Jones, G. Jones, Thomas (Hope 45’), Olomola, McKirdy (Loft 70’)
One to Watch – Olufela Olomola
A former Arsenal academy graduate, Olufela Olomola has certainly hit the ground running this campaign and he’s already found the target on five occasions in League Two from 12 appearances in total.
Joining on loan this summer from fellow League Two club Scunthorpe United, Olomola has scored in three of the last five matches and currently leads the way as top scorer for Carlisle United.
The 22-year old made one appearance for Premier League outfit Southampton in October 2016, before loans spells at Yeovil Town came either side of moving from the Saints to Scunthorpe.
Manager – Steven Pressley
A surprise appointment following the shock departure of ex County boss John Sheridan in January, Steven Pressley was handed a new 12-month contract extension in April after an impressive start to life in the hot seat.
Things may not have worked the way he would have hoped with Carlisle currently bottom half in the division, however Pressley doesn’t have too bad a record with a 34%-win ratio. The Cumbrians have won 11, drawn seven and lost 14 of his 32 matches in charge.
A former member of the backroom staff at the Scottish national team, Pressley spent a caretaker spell in charge of Hearts before permanent managerial roles at Falkirk, Coventry City, Fleetwood Town and Cypriot side Pafos.
Meetings between the two sides in 2018/19
Both sides secured home victories against each other last season as both sets of respective supporters faced a 576-mile round trip to watch their sides lose.
County’s defeat was arguably toughest to take as Cumbrians captain Danny Grainger smashed home a thunderbolt in the third minute of stoppage time to secure a 3-2 victory. Jamie Devitt had earlier put Carlisle in command with two early finishes, before Padraig Amond and Dan Butler pulled County level.
County exacted their revenge in the reverse fixture as they got their play-off push back on track with a confident 2-0 victory on March 2nd. Ade Azeez netted his inaugural goal for the Exiles and Amond again found the target before Grainger missed a late penalty.
Officials 
Referee: Antony Coggins
Assistant Referee 1: Christopher Husband
Assistant Referee 2: Ollie Williams
Fourth Official: Ross Martin
Antony Coggins is currently embarking on his third season as a Football League referee having first officiated his first match in League Two on the opening day of 2017/18 when Morecambe secured a 2-1 victory over Cheltenham Town.
He has taken charge of eight games thus far this campaign, brandishing 26 yellow cards and zero red cards, last taking charge of a match on September 24th when Bristol Rovers beat Chelsea U21s in the Leasing.Com Trophy.
Those statistics follow on from refereeing 37 games last year, a season in which Coggins awarded 132 yellow cards and three red cards throughout the entirety of the campaign.
County Connection
Coggins has officiated a match involving Newport County AFC on six previous occasions in League Two. Something will have to give on Saturday as the Exiles have won two, drawn two and lost the remaining two of the prior contests.
Last season, Coggins presided over three County matches, the last of which came on March 12th 2019 when the Exiles were condemned to a 1-0 defeat at Northampton Town. Joss Labadie was booked.
County also failed to win the other two matches in the 2018/19 campaign, including the 0-0 draw with Crawley Town on December 29th. Mark Harris was booked while Mark O’Brien saw yellow in the 1-0 defeat at Swindon Town on September 11th.
The remaining three matches overseen by Coggins came during the 2017/18 campaign, including the 2-0 victory at League One outfit Southend United on August 8th 2017. Ben White and Matty Dolan were cautioned.
Coggins also officiated the 1-0 victory over Grimsby Town on September 23rd. No County players were cautioned, but Frank Nouble was during the 1-1 draw at Cheltenham Town on December 30th.
Other League Two fixtures that day (All 3pm kick-offs)
Bradford City vs Swindon Town
Cambridge United vs Macclesfield Town
Colchester United vs Stevenage
Crewe Alexandra vs Exeter City
Forest Green Rovers vs Crawley Town
Grimsby Town vs Mansfield Town
Northampton Town vs Leyton Orient
Oldham Athletic vs Cheltenham Town
Plymouth Argyle vs Scunthorpe United
Port Vale vs Morecambe
Walsall vs Salford City
Can’t make the match?
You can follow along on social media using @NCAFCLive on Twitter, or via the Club’s official Facebook, Snapchat (OfficialExiles) and Instagram pages.
Don’t forget – if you reside outside of the UK, you can watch the game live by subscribing to County’s iFollow service. Commentary by Charlie Brown and Richard Shepherd can also be found at the Match Centre from 2.45pm.
An on-the-whistle match report of this match will be provided on the club website upon the end of the game. Michael Flynn’s post-match analysis will appear on the website the day after the game, while you can watch all of Flynn’s post-match press conference as-well as two County players by subscribing to #iFollowExiles.