Michael Skubala’s Lincoln City return to the LNER Stadium to face Peterborough United in SkyBet League One action on Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
The Imps come into the fixture in good spirits, following a positive result and performance against Derby County last week. It left a feeling of excitement around the club over the new strike duo of Joe Taylor and Freddie Draper.
Another bumper crowd is expected with around 9,000 tickets sold for the game, with a sold-out away end ensuring a great atmosphere at the LNER Stadium.
Opposition: Peterborough United
Darren Ferguson’s men have enjoyed an excellent first half of the League One campaign, currently sitting second in the table – only a point behind leaders Portsmouth, with a game in hand.
Last time out, the Posh edged past Crawley Town 2-1 and progressed into the quarter-finals of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. In league action, the visitors are unbeaten in eleven, a run extending back to the beginning of November.
Peterborough have a similar youthful approach to the Imps, posting an average starting-eleven age of 22.5 this season, whereas the Imps’ youngest starting-eleven had the average age of 23.1 years old.
Team News:
Danny Mandroiu is in contention for Saturday’s game, as he returns from a four-match suspension following his red card against Bolton Wanderers.
Speaking pre-match, Skubala said: “Danny is under consideration, he’s been training well. But, the group is doing well, the squad is doing well.”
Defender Paudie O’Connor remains suspended, but will return next week for the game against Burton Albion.
The Imps remain without Tyler Walker and Ben House, but the latter has started training, so could be expected to be eased back into things soon.
As for the visitors, winger Kwame Poku is unavailable due to an injury he picked up in a win at Charlton a fortnight ago.
However, Ferguson welcomes back goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic from injury to challenge new January signing Jed Steer, who is only at the club for one month on an ‘emergency signing’ basis.
Double League One golden boot winner Jonson Clarke-Harris could be involved in the squad again, after missing out through a knock in recent games. The striker was close to sealing a move to Charlton Athletic earlier in the window, but the parties could not agree on personal terms.
Head-to-Head:
The Imps have struggled against Peterborough in recent years, and haven’t beaten them since New Year’s Day 2020. They haven’t scored against the Posh since May 2021.
The two sides met for the first time in the FA Cup back in 1957. The 2-2 draw forced a replay that the Posh went on to win 5-4.
Its a common fixture, with the two cities clashing frequently. This is the 55th time the two sides have met, with Peterborough winning 24 of those. The Imps have claimed 14 victories, with 16 draws.
Played for both:
Many players have made the short trip from Cambridgeshire to Lincolnshire to play for both sides. These include Lincoln legend Simon Yeo who scored 30 goals for the Imps before making 16 appearances in the blue of Peterborough.
Current midfielder Ethan Hamilton made 40 appearances for Posh and won promotion to the Championship with the side in 2021, and has now made a name for himself in the red and white of Lincoln City.
Michael Bostwick, Harry Anderson, and Alex Woodyard all made over a century of appearances for the Imps, as well as moving to the blue corner of Cambridgeshire.
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