Why Morecambe vs Carlisle Is The Biggest Game This Weekend

While the National League plea for an additional promotion spot, League Two remains occupant of only two opportunities for relegation. These two spaces are currently taken up by strugglers Morecambe and Carlisle United heading into the final five matches.

Given that both sides are deep into the drop zone, it is only right that a fixture between the pair in jeopardy is written into the League Two script for this weekend. Morecambe - the higher up of the two - will host this contest tomorrow afternoon at their beloved Mazuma Mobile Stadium, offering a potential lifeline for either team in pursuit of safety.

Carlisle are sinking in the League Two standings, eight points adrift of Accrington in 22nd. Elsewhere, life is not much rosier for Morecambe; only two points better off than their relegation parallels, a win for either team may just be too little too late.

Morecambe’s Decline

Not only has Derek Adams’ Morecambe reached new heights for the shrimps, but he has also brought them tumbling down just as fast.

The Scotsman is now experiencing his third spell with the club in four years. After getting Morecambe promoted in 2021 up to League One, Adams left the Lancashire side to fend for themselves in England’s third tier. Following his dismissal from Bradford City less than nine months later, Adams rejoined the Shrimps to pick up where he left off and managed to retain Morecambe’s League One status by finishing 19th in the 2021/22 season. The season after was nowhere near as cheerful. A foreshadowing of now, second season syndrome had emerged on Morecambe’s League One journey as their relegation fate was sealed in 2023.

BREAKING: Cambridge survive but MK Dons, Morecambe, Accrington and Forest Green have been relegated to Sky Bet League Two 🔻 pic.twitter.com/jua1vuZYxd

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 7, 2023

Derek Adams sought after new adventures soon following the Shrimps division drop. In November 2023, as the club occupied ninth in League Two, the manager left to head back to his old stomping ground Ross County. History repeated itself once again as eight months later Adams reignited his third stint with Morecambe, which sees him in his current position. Little did he know, the third time would bring complete misery to the west coast.

Morecambe sit in 23rd position, six points off safety, five games to go and a premise of National League football looming. It is no secret that a win against Carlisle on Saturday is an absolute must for the Shrimps. However, even such a boost may not suffice Morecambe’s safety desperations. Derek Adams’ men are banking on other results entering the last handful of fixtures. A silver lining for the Shrimps is the fact that their Lancashire relegation rivals Accrington Stanley still have to play matches against both Carlisle and Tranmere, two of the bottom four teams – leading an immense opportunity for Morecambe to gain points on all of them.

Back-To-Back For Carlisle?

Morecambe are no anomaly; newly relegated sides struggling seems to be the latest trend to emerge from the English Football League. In Carlisle’s case, they have struggled exceptionally.

The Cumbrians have only amounted to 34 points in League Two this term, less than a year after their regrettable relegation from the third tier. A double drop out of the Football League is looking to take shape, following in the footsteps of the National League’s Forest Green Rovers who fell down the same hole last season. The Blues have only won eight games this campaign under the control of three different managers. The current manager being Mark Hughes – a man who obtains bags of experience in the coaching industry, having worked at the helm of Manchester City, Stoke, Fulham and others. However, the Welshman has faced challenges in England’s fourth division. An unsuccessful 18-month stint at Bradford City led Hughes to Carlisle, as he continues his League Two drought in Cumbria.

Mark Hughes going from Premier League manager to managing the club 24th in League Two within 10 years is crazy.

Fair play to him though and that's a great appointment by Carlisle 👏 pic.twitter.com/2JO5EpmfQt

— The #EFL Zone (@TheFLZone) February 6, 2025

Carlisle have not bowed of of the top four tiers since their appearance in the Conference Premier (now National League) in 2004/05, where the Blues were promoted back up at first attempt. In the 20 years since, Carlisle have spent almost half of that time in the third division, making it an absolute travesty if Mark Hughes men were to face the drop. A loss to Morecambe on Saturday would almost put one foot in the National League for the Cumbrians, especially with regards to how Accrington’s clash against Tranmere Rovers could pan out – setting the gap even wider.

How Do Both Teams Look Heading Into This Fixture?

It is fair to say that neither squad has been up to scratch this campaign. Morecambe and Carlisle have the two worst goal differences in the entirety of League Two, demonstrating the lack of scoring outlets each team possesses.

Morecambe have only found the back of the net 37 times this season, meanwhile conceding 60 goals. Although the Shrimps recent form has not necessarily been the worst, they have just been far too inconsistent throughout the length of the season which has withered their survival chances. Derek Adams’ side have won two and drawn one of their last five matches – an improvement of what they have produced previously. However, a 3-1 loss to Grimsby last weekend has dampened the winning spirit in the Morecambe camp.

Likewise, Carlisle have only scored 34 goals this season. Their goal tallies have been damaged ever since the loss of Kristian Dennis in 2023, after the striker netted 20 goals in Carlisle’s League Two promotion-winning campaign. Furthermore, the absence of stars Owen Morton and Jon Mellish since leaving last season has left Carlisle neglected. The Blues are yet to have found a good patch of form all season. However, they did win their last match against Newport last weekend. Mark Hughes’ outfit will be hoping to use that 3-2 triumph to propel them into these last five games.