Carlisle face the Imps for the first time in more than 10 years this weekend - so we asked Blues hero Deano, who played for both clubs, to give his expert insight into their opponents.

WHAT CAN CARLISLE EXPECT?

"Carlisle can expect a test, there's no doubt about that," Deano says.

"Lincoln haven't won a league game yet, so they will be eager to get off the mark at home.

"I'm sure it is only a matter of time, because they have improved their squad with some big players over the summer, like Michael Bostwick from Peterborough, plus a couple of good loanees.

"They've also retained some big performers from last season, such as Alex Woodyard - a fantastic midfielder who won player of the year both at his club and in non-league overall.

"They just need the win to fully settle and get going in the division, which Carlisle managed to do when I saw them at Cambridge.

"Lincoln lost 1-0 on Saturday at Exeter, but before that they drew 1-1 with Morecambe at home, and absolutely battered them. They created 20-odd chances and could easily have come away with the points.

"When you're not creating chances, you know you've got a problem, but that hasn't been the case so far."

HOW DO THEY PLAY?

"They set up in a 4-4-2 with two very different players up front," Walling says. "Matt Rhead is a big, strong unit and a real handful, but the two lads at the back for Carlisle, Mark Ellis and Tom Parkes, handled two units very well at Cambridge when I saw them a couple of weeks ago.

"You're going to get this in League Two most weeks, and you have to be able to cope with it.

"Alongside Rhead is Matt Green, who they signed from Mansfield. He's a very good player with a pedigree of scoring goals at lower-league level.

"Lincoln will try and play at times, but above all they will be very direct. Don't be under any illusions about that - they'll send it up to the big man and play off him."

WHAT ABOUT THE MANAGER?

"Danny Cowley," says Deano, "is a very popular figure here - it's very much a case of 'in Cowley we trust'.

"Since he has come into Sincil Bank he has tried to change the whole mentality not just of the team but of the club.

"So far, he has succeeded. It's a family club and Danny and his brother Nicky, his assistant, have come from a teaching background and they do look to educate players when they come in.

"That philosophy has filtered throughout the club and so far, everything has gone right. They had a brilliant FA Cup run last season, getting to the quarter-finals against Arsenal. They won the league, got to the semi-finals of the FA Trophy, and the good times certainly returned to Lincoln City.

"It is the test of a manager, though, when things aren't going right. You might have expected Lincoln to have a couple more points on the board now but it is still very early.

"Danny, above all, is such a nice lad, as is Nicky - they are very friendly and approachable, good ambassadors for the club and the fans love them."

WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS THIS SEASON?

"Despite doing so well last season, people seem to be level-headed in their expectations for this campaign," Walling believes.

"The feeling is that cementing a place in League Two is all-important, and the play-offs would be brilliant, and the manager is saying similar things.

"His attitude seems to be: let's do as well as we can, and whatever happens happens. If we get a sniff of the promotion race, let's go for it, but at the same time let's keep our feet firmly on the ground.

"That keeps everyone else level-headed. Danny doesn't want anyone's expectation to get out of control."

HOW HAS LAST SEASON'S FA CUP RUN HELPED?

"It has certainly helped - and they broke the bank for Bostwick," Deano says.

"I gather they intended to stick to a particular pay structure, but it wasn't allowing them to get any players in.

"By all accounts, they then changed that approach when they went for Bostwick. It's the oldest rule in the world that if you want to get top players in, you have to pay top money.

"Bostwick could have gone to two or three Championship clubs. I understand Ipswich were interested, so were Blackburn in League One, so it was a real statement to get him to Lincoln.

"It helped that he lives nearby in Peterborough. I don't think he wanted to uproot his family and move again, so that benefited Lincoln - plus, the club are in the ascendancy, and Danny seems to have got him to buy into his vision for the place.

"The cup run was a real game-changer in terms of the money it brought in - the best part of £2m came in through the Arsenal game, a full house at the Emirates - plus they had some big crowds, 9-10,000s, for their last few games of the league season.

"The big priority, though, is to get a new training ground. They don't have a training complex so the bulk of that money, I think, will go towards that."

WHAT WILL THE ATMOSPHERE BE LIKE?

"Last season they had a few full houses and when the place is like that, the atmosphere is brilliant," Deano says.

"They sold 5,500 season-tickets, so there will be 6-7,000 there on Saturday.

"Everybody wants to see them win their first game and it will make for a cracking game.

"Of course, it couldn't be a better game for me, having played for both clubs."

WHAT ABOUT THE BLUES - AND THEIR OTHER LINCOLN CONNECTION?

"I thought Carlisle played very well at Cambridge," says Deano, who was covering the game with BBC Radio Cumbria.

"They attacked well and could have been two or three up within 10 minutes.

"They followed that up with an excellent result against Cheltenham and it was nice to see them keeping a clean sheet.

"Tom Miller is in good form, and he will be coming back to his former club this weekend.

"I'm sure he will get a good reception, because he was a really popular player at Sincil Bank. He left in the Conference to try and establish himself in the Football League with Carlisle, and nobody could knock him for that.

"He always did well for Lincoln. He played right-back, centre-half, even right wing-back at times.

"When he played centre-back, he reminded me a bit of myself. He would get forward, score at corners, but he'd always get the first head on things when the team were defending.

"He has done well at Carlisle and he's ever such a nice lad as well - someone you want to see succeed."

(interview: Jon Colman)