Carlisle United will begin their 2011-12 campaign on Saturday 6 August with a home match against Notts County, with Greg Abbott’s team looking for a repeat of the 2-0 win that they managed against Brentford in their first game last season.

The Cumbrians finished twelfth in League One last season, although they did get off to a fast start which saw them challenge for the play-off places before dropping down to the middle of the table.

Carlisle’s second match is a trip to Gigg Lane where United will face a newly-promoted Bury team who finished second in League Two last season and are now managed by Richie Barker following the departure of Alan Knill to Scunthorpe towards the end of last season.

The Blues then have matches away to Rochdale, home to Bournemouth and away to Leyton Orient which completes the August schedule. Ten points or more from these first five matches would be very welcome.

Sheffield United’s relegation to League One means there will be trips to Bramall Lane and Hillsborough this season, the latter being a ground where Carlisle triumphed last season. They play Sheffield Wednesday away on 21 April, with a trip to face the Blades scheduled for 19 November.

There is also a big game on Boxing Day when Carlisle make the relatively short trip to Preston North End, while the games against Hartlepool take place on 10 September and 28 January.

You can get odds of 33/1 for Carlisle United to win League 1 and odds of 10/1 for them to be promoted with bet365 online bookmakers (£200 free bets for all new customers).