Barrow have an intriguing start to the new League Two season.
They will travel to Edgeley Park on Saturday, July 30 to face EFL returnees Stockport County who won the National League title last season.
New Barrow boss Pete Wild will get his first taste of competitive action at Holker Street when Mark Hughes’ Bradford City come to town the following Saturday.
The first League Two all-Cumbrian clash of the season is at Brunton Park as the Bluebirds visit on Saturday December 10 with the return fixture at Barrow set for April 22.
The popular Boxing Day fixture will see Barrow on the road to Salford City but there are two home games to end the year – Tranmere Rovers visit Holker Street on Thursday December 29, while Rochdale travel up on New Year’s Day.
The Good Friday fixture is away to Crewe Alexandra with the Easter Monday clash a home fixture against Crawley Town.
The 2022/23 Sky Bet League Two season will come to a close with a final day match-up between Barrow and Stevenage at Holker Street on Saturday May 6.
Carlisle United
Carlisle United will start their League Two season on Saturday, July 30 with a home game against Crawley Town.
That particular opener means that United manager Paul Simpson will be opposed by former FA colleagues Kevin Betsy and Dan Micciche, who have recently been put in charge of Crawley.
The Blues first away league game is the following Saturday, August 6, when they make the long trip into Essex to face Colchester United.
There are no scheduled home Tuesday night league fixtures ahead of Christmas, with all three of the midweek games on the road – newly-promoted Grimsby Town on Tuesday August 16, Mansfield Town on Tuesday September 13 and National League champions Stockport County on Tuesday October 25.
Carlisle will host Bradford City on Boxing Day while a trip to Doncaster Rovers is in store on New Year’s Day.
The Good Friday (April 7) fixture is a home meeting with Tranmere Rovers while on Easter Monday they will travel to Walsall.
The Blues’ last home game is the penultimate match of the season with Salford City the visitors to Brunton Park.
The season ends with a trip to London to play Sutton United on Saturday, May 6.
Manager Paul Simpson said: “I tend to scan the fixtures and look at the first ten games, then at the last ten. Those games set the tone for how you start and, more importantly, you want to peak for those last ten so that you get yourselves over the line with whatever it is you want to achieve.
“So, it’s good to start at home, but it’s a lovely local fixture at Sutton to finish! Look, you have to play all 46 games, so when or where they happen doesn’t really matter.
“It’s how you come out over the course of the campaign that matters to us all.
“Picking a few out, I’m looking forward to seeing Kevin and Dan at the end of July. They will bring a good footballing philosophy to Crawley and it will be a test.
“The Bradford game on Boxing Day will be excellent. They’ll bring thousands and I’m sure the atmosphere will be fantastic.”
