Our prediction for this League 2 match:
Brunton Park will host Saturday’s football game between Carlisle United and Salford United, the two playoffs-chasing sides. The Cumbrians aim to build on a hard-fought 1-0 win over Barrow, but this game will be anything but a walk in the park for the home team. Barring any fresh injury worries, Paul Simpson is unlikely to make changes to the team that faced the Bluebirds at the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Lions aim to build on back-to-back wins over Hartlepool and Walsall. Salford and Carlisle, though, seem to be evenly matched at the moment, and, taking everything into account, we believe that there is a big value in betting on draw. Both McAleny and Lund are pushing for a start after scoring as substitutes in the last league match, whereas talented forward Louie Barry misses out through suspension. In the first half of the season Carlisle crushed Salford 4-1.
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 (Salford):
Founded during the Second World War (1940) as Salford Central, the League Two side play their home games at Moor Lane. The stadium, which was opened in 1978 and renovated in 2019, can hold up to 5,108 spectators. The Lions wear red jerseys and white shorts when playing in front of home fans, while white and black are the dominant colours of their away kit.
Salford City secured promotion to the League 2 at the end of the 2018/19 as they defeated Flyde 3-0 in the National League play-offs final. The match was played at Wembley Stadium, with Touray, Pergianni, and Dieseruvwe scoring for the Lions.
In the 1977/78 season Salford City won their first Manchester Premier Cup trophy, with the team repeating the success the following year. Bury are seen as the club’s main rivals, but their rivalry with the likes of Oldham and Rochdale is pretty big as well.