Lincoln City are back in SkyBet League One action as they welcome Port Vale to the LNER Stadium on Saturday, November 11th.
After a loss in the FA Cup and win in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, the Imps return to league competition. They’re hoping to sign off Tom Shaw’s time as interim head coach with three points, in what is likely to be his last game.
Shaw has taken charge of six City games, with three ending in victory, two in defeat and one honours even. It’s expected that the new permanent head coach will be appointed after Saturday’s visit of Port Vale, as CEO Liam Scully strongly implied to BBC Radio Lincolnshire.
Opposition: Port Vale
Port Vale currently sit in 16th, looking over their shoulder more than they’re looking up the table. They haven’t won a league game since mid-September, in a horror run stretching seven games.
Andy Crosby’s side responded to a 7-0 drubbing against Barnsley on the opening day of the season with a good run of form, and will be hoping to reverse their fortunes again.
Away from the league it’s a happier story for The Valiants, reaching the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup. They’re the lowest ranked team left in the competition and would reach a historic semi-final with a win over Championship Middlesbrough.
Team News:
Much like predecessor his Mark Kennedy, Tom Shaw has battled injury troubles. Ben House and Lewis Montsma remain out for the long-term as Tyler Walker returns to training.
The positive news from midweek was that the Imps didn’t add to their injury list, but they were without Danny Mandroiu, Ted Bishop, Sean Roughan, Alex Mitchell and Reeco Hackett for that clash.
Shaw will be hoping that at least some will make it back into the line-up on Saturday afternoon.
As for Vale, some eight players were absent for their midweek Bristol Street Motors Trophy loss to Wrexham, among them centre-forward James Wilson and defender Alex Iacovitti.
The visitors are further troubled by captain Nathan Smith’s suspension, so will come to Lincolnshire with a significant portion of their squad missing.
Featured for Both:
The well-travelled midfielder, John Schofield, played 231 games for Lincoln City, in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, before returning in 2000 for a further 19 appearances. He also managed the Imps in 2006-07, but now finds himself as the first team coach at Port Vale, having joined the coaching staff in April of this year.
A man who has played for both teams is Theo Robinson. The Jamaican striker has featured in two spells at Vale Park, first in 2016 and more recently in 2020-21. He spent a short-term loan spell in Lincoln from 2016 to 2017, notably scoring both goals in a 2-2 FA Cup draw at Ipswich Town in the Imps famed cup run as a National League side.
Head-to-Head:
Last season, Lincoln City and Port Vale shared the spoils from their two league games, with the Valiants winning 1-0 at Vale Park and the Imps securing a 3-2 victory at the LNER Stadium.
Their recent meetings have mostly gone in the favour of Lincoln. Dating back to 2017, City have won four games, lost two and drawn the other.
Overall, it’s an even picture with Lincoln winning 34, Vale winning 33, and 23 games ending in draws. Saturday’s game is an intriguing one, pitting one out-of-form team against another with patchy consistency of late.
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