Carlisle midfielder James Berrett will miss the home game through suspension.
Berrett received his fifth yellow card of the season in Saturday's home draw with Swindon and is therefore sidelined with a one-game ban.
Fellow midfielder Liam Noble sits out the last of his three-match suspension, leaving skipper Paul Thirlwell as manager Greg Abbott's only recognised central midfielder, so full-back Chris Chantler is expected to fill in.
Abbott could opt to hand David Symington his first start, while another teenager, striker Mark Beck, is pressing for a full debut after another appearance off the bench at the weekend.
Danny Livesey replaced Mike Edwards in central defence against Swindon and is pushing for a start, while striker Jake Jervis, on loan from Birmingham, is expected to resume alongside Danny Cadamarteri after scoring twice.
Goalkeeper Mark Gillespie is likely to continue at the expense of Adam Collin after a fine display on Saturday, while forward Lee Miller (knee) remains a long-term absentee.
Matt Tootle is poised to make his first start of the season when Crewe travel to Carlisle.
Hip and groin problems hindered Tootle at the start of the campaign but boss Steve Davis is expected to name him at Brunton Park in place of the suspended Chuks Aneke.
On-loan Arsenal youngster Aneke saw his full Alex debut turn sour against Stevenage at the weekend when he was dismissed for a two-footed challenge.
On Monday Davis retracted his post-match intention to appeal the decision and told the Railwaymen's official website: "His two feet do leave the floor and it was a straight red card. The referee made the right decision and Chuks will have to learn his lesson quickly.
"It was a rush of blood from him and he has to learn from it."
Elsewhere, Mathias Pogba (knee) is closing in on a return to training but the game comes too soon for him while fellow forward Michael West (Achilles) also remains on the sidelines.
