Dulwich Hamlet vs Carlisle Predictions

National League South side Dulwich Hamlet play host to League Two’s Carlisle, in front of what will be a sell-out crowd, on Friday evening, as they look to keep their FA Cup journey alive. The visitors, who’ve got league matters to focus on, will be hoping to get the job done at the first time of asking and thus avoid the inconvenience of a replay.

Dulwich come into this match off the back of tasting defeat at this venue, but overall, the sixth-tier club have enjoyed a pleasing few months. Prior to their loss against Bath, Friday’s hosts were unbeaten in seven games.

At their own level, Gavin Rose’s men aren’t exactly flying, as they sit in a rather lowly 16^th place in the National League South, but as touched on above, things have improved of late. Going forward, they’re a side more than capable of scoring goals, as 21 league goals in 15 games suggests. The Hamlet have notched at least once in each of their last nine in all competitions, scoring two or more in six of those nine. What’s more, they’ve scored two or more in seven of their last ten at this venue.

The problem for the hosts is that they’ve struggled to keep teams at bay, which doesn’t exactly bode well ahead of a match against League Two opposition. Dulwich are without a clean sheet in four, while they’ve shut the opposition out just once since the beginning of September. They’ve also kept just two clean sheets in ten competitive home games this term.

Fortunately, Carlisle are among League Two’s worst performers in terms of goals scored, so the hosts may fancy themselves to do well on Friday night. Not only are Carlisle the sixth lowest scorers in England’s fourth tier, but they’ve also conceded the joint-most goals, shipping a disappointing 29 in 17 matches.

The visitors also come into this game having struggled on their travels of late. They’re without a win in four on the road, three of which they’ve lost. During that spell, Carlisle have scored just two and have conceded seven.

From a betting point of view, at the early prices, it’s not terribly difficult to make a case for the hosts, who ought to be fired up having reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in 21 years. Facing Football League opposition won’t be easy, though the current odds make it look as though the Hamlet are facing a better League Two side than they are. At the end of the day, Carlisle are struggling in the fourth division; they’ve not thrived offensively and have struggled at the back. Add in the fact that they’ve found it tough on the road of late, not to mention the fact that Dulwich’s best home performances of late have come in qualifying for this competition and backing the hosts to avoid defeat becomes a viable option.