Lincoln City will look to return to winning ways this weekend after a poor showing against Accrington Stanley last Friday.
They face Stevenage on Saturday, September 25th, a side still adjusting to life in the Football League and without a win in their previous three outings, and just a solitary goal to their name in that time.
Imps manager Chris Sutton will be without former Bolton forward Delroy Facey due to illness, while Paul Green, Clark Keltie, Scott Kerr, and Andy Hutchinson also miss out. Drewe Broughton is doubtful after receiving stitches for a cut.
Despite the injury problems facing the team, Sutton is looking for a reaction after the comprehensive defeat in Lancashire, which left City 18th in League Two. A win, however, could see the Imps rise as high as eighth, just shy of the play-off positions.
He said: “We have to perform. We have one or two players who are performing and one or two who aren’t. Whether you’re looking at the law of averages or whatever, it’s about time one or two of them did start performing. In terms of effort, they’re giving everything and that’s all I can ask.
“In terms of performance, we have to improve. One thing I don’t like to see is to go under. They’ve got to stand up for themselves and they’ve got to have a nasty streak. Saturday is a really good opportunity to put that right.”
Stevenage came through their goalless draw against Torquay unscathed and manager Graham Westley is likely to field an unchanged side. He will be hoping that forwards Yemi Odubade and Charlie Griffin can improve on Boro’s poor form in front of goal, having hit only six all season.
Boro are, however, relatively capable at the other end, having conceded just twice in the last three outings.
It promises to be a tight affair, and Lincoln forward Drewe Broughton hopes that the team can become more consistent, starting with a positive result against Stevenage.
He said: “I think, so far, we haven’t hit the standards that we expect, certainly not the standards that the manager has set and I think we’ve let him down.
“We have to take responsibility ultimately as players. It’s about consistency. We’ve shown at times that we can hit a good level, but it’s not happened often enough.”
The Linc prediction: Imps 1-0 Stevenage