Head coach Dermot Drummy thinks Crawley will come up against a “strong” Carlisle United team.

The two sides will meet at the Checkatrade.com Stadium this afternoon (3pm kick-off), both desperate for three points but for very different reasons.

United will be looking to wrestle their way back into the League Two play-offs as the season nears its conclusion.

And they will move back into the top seven if they win their penultimate away league fixture this campaign and either Blackpool or Exeter fail to win or Stevenage, in fifth, are beaten.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils who sit 20th in table will confirm their Football League survival with one more victory.

Crawley come into the match on the back of a 1-0 defeat at Accrington Stanley, with Drummy pleased with the display from his team despite the result.

“I think it was a good performance but, obviously, you cannot keep saying the result went against us,” he said.

“The mind-set of the lads was fantastic. We have got to have that mind-set again and take chances.

“We have looked at Carlisle – they are a strong, physical team but we have to play to our maximum to give ourselves the best opportunity.”

And the Red Devils’ coach warned they will be no pushovers when they host the Cumbrians.

“They [Carlisle] have got to work and get three points,” he said. “We have got to make sure they do not get three points.

“It always will be about us. We have played [well against] good teams here but we have got to be consistent with that.

“We have got to get the crowd on our side. We have got to start the game well, so we get the crowd on the up. We want to hear the positives from the crowd.”

The Sussex outfit have endured a difficult campaign, although they have tended to perform better at home than they have done on their travels.

Drummy admitted Crawley are in a “dogfight” at the moment.

He added on Crawley's website: “We are in a dogfight. We have got to fight like dogs.”

Striker James Collins is Crawley’s top scorer and is likely to be their main threat, while former Leyton Orient midfielder Dean Cox could also cause problems for the Blues’ defence.

When the two sides met at Brunton Park earlier this season, Keith Curle’s men claimed a 3-1 win with Luke Joyce scoring a wonder goal, which was later voted League Two’s Goal of the Month for October.

Carlisle manager Curle, meanwhile, did not hold his weekly press conference, ahead of the 700-mile round trip.