Carlisle v Notts County preview

Team news ahead of Saturday's League One clash between Carlisle United and Notts County at Brunton Park.

Greg Abbott expects both defender Peter Murphy and striker Craig Curran to be fit. Centre-half Murphy was withdrawn from the recent friendly win over Bradford with a lower back problem, while Curran sustained a dead-leg in the same match, but both players returned to full training in midweek and suffered no reaction. Abbott has only one other injury concern with striker Paddy Madden, ruled out for three months after breaking a bone in his foot at Workington in pre-season, undergoing surgery on Tuesday. Summer signing Andy Welsh, Rory Loy, Francois Zoko and Curran are among those vying for a place up front and three more new recruits, Stephen O'Halloran, Jon-Paul McGovern and Liam Noble, are all in contention for a place in the starting line-up. Abbott must choose two central defenders from O'Halloran, Murphy, Danny Livesey and Lubo Michalik, while midfielders McGovern and Noble both featured against Bradford. Striker Lee Hughes could be risked. The veteran suffered the bends while scuba diving on holiday and had to undergo a sinus operation three weeks ago. But Magpies manager Martin Allen said: "You need people like Hughes. It will be a bit of a gamble if I play him in the first game but it's a calculated gamble because he brings a lot to the team." Midfielders Neal Bishop (ankle) and Alan Judge (hamstring) will also face late fitness tests. Former Carlisle striker Karl Hawley could be in Allen's squad along with new signings Jeff Hughes, Alan Sheehan, Jude Stirling and Ishmel Demontagnac. Defender Stephen Hunt (ankle) and forward Ben Burgess (hamstring) are out.