Our prediction for this League 1 match:
Brunton Park will host Saturday’s season opener between Carlisle United and Fleetwood Town, who meet for the first time in the League One. The Cumbrians were producing fine performances in preseason, but they head into the match following a 2-0 loss to Scottish side Dundee United. A man to watch in the home team will be centre-forward Sean Maguire, who joined the club from Coventry earlier this summer. Fellow new recruit Dylan McGeouch should make his official Carlisle debut against Fleetwood as well.
The Fishermen, on the other hand, aim to build on a hard-fought 1-0 win over Grimsby in their last warm-up match. The two teams seem to be evenly matched at the moment and, taking everything into account, the share of spoils is on the horizon. Summer recruits Ryan Broom and Danny Mayor will undoubtedly be players to watch closely in the visiting team's lineup.
Highlighted Player (Tomas Holy):
Born in the town of Rychnov nad Kneznou, Czechoslovakia, Tomas Holy is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper for Ipswich Town in League One. The 27-year-old was born on the 10th of December, 1991, and joined FC Hradec Kralove's youth academy in 2006. After spending four years with them, he signed for Sparta Prague and started playing for its B team.
His first professional appearance for AC Sparta Prague B came on the 11th of June, 2011, in a 1-2 home loss against FK Varnsdorf. He went on to ply his trade-in Czech football for the next six years before moving to Gillingham in England on the 20th of January, 2017, on a two and a half year contract. Gillingham's manager praised the 2.06m tall goalkeeper's "large presence" and "ball-kicking ability," stating them as reasons behind his recruitment. In his time at Gillingham, Holy made 107 appearances and kept 25 clean sheets in all competitions.
On the 24th of May, 2019, Holy joined Ipswich on a free transfer and made an immediate impact. He kept six clean sheets in his first ten league games for Ipswich, including a run of five consecutive clean sheets, a club record. Internationally, Holy has capped at the under-16, under-17, and under-18 level for his country but is yet to receive a call up for the first team.
Highlighted Team (Fleetwood):
Known for their attacking style of play, Fleetwood Town are a professional football club based in Fletwood, Lancashire. The Fishermen play their home matches at Highbury Stadium, the venue with the capacity of 5,327 (2,672 seated), with the team wearing red and white shirts in home matches.
On the other hand, Fleetwood footballers are dressed in yellow when playing on the travels. The original club was founded back in 1908 under the name of Fleetwood FC and 69 years later they were re-established as Fleetwood Town F.C. In 1998 the club was renamed to Fleetwood Wanderers after the second reformation.
Legendary England footballer Joey Barton is considered one of the club’s most notable coaches. Barton, who was known for his incidents on the field, has been in charge since June 2, 2018. Neighbouring club Blackpool are regarded as one of Fleetwood’s main rivals. The Fishermen have built up rivalries with Morecambe and Preston North End as well.