Lincoln City travel to The Valley as they face a struggling Charlton Athletic side on Tuesday night.
Michael Skubala’s side come into the game unbeaten in their last five games, including a win at home against Fleetwood on Saturday. Ben House and Lasse Sørensen completed the turnaround following the sending off of Fleetwood’s Mohammed Olabosun Lawal late in the first half.
The Imps will look to win two away games on the spin for the first time since November, after beating Burton Albion on their last trip.
Opposition: Charlton Athletic
Sitting in 20th place, out of the relegation zone on goal difference, the Addicks come into the game without a single win in their last 15 games. Their last win came at home to Cheltenham in November.
New boss Nathan Jones, who replaced Michael Appleton, will take charge of his first game at The Valley, following a 2-0 loss away to Reading at the weekend.
The hosts will hope that top-scorer Alfie May will find his shooting boots again, having not found the back of the net in his last five league games. Loan signing Freddie Ladapo is seeking his first goal since arriving from Ipswich Town in January.
Team News:
The Imps will welcome back defender Alex Mitchell following his one-match suspension after a red card against Burton the other week, after Skubala confirmed that Adam Jackson suffered a broken nose against Fleetwood.
Jack Burroughs is also out for four weeks following an ankle injury he suffered against Burton Albion.
In his pre-match press conference, Skubala also commented on the fitness of Ethan Hamilton and Freddie Draper: “There is no change with Ethan [Hamilton] at the minute… Freddie [Draper] we are not sure yet whether he is going to make tomorrow, he is having a look over and a fitness test.”
Midfielder Conor McGrandles will be unavailable for the game, as he is ineligible to play against his parent club. Skubala said: “We’re going to have to look at what we do, whether we change shape, stay shape or whether we just go with different personnel in that role.”
Head-to-Head:
The game will be the 20th time the two sides have faced each other, with the hosts having the upper hand with nine wins to Lincoln’s five in the last 19 meetings. The sides first played each other in 1932, with Charlton running out 4-2 winners.
More recently, the Imps have only lost one of the last five meetings (three wins and one draw), with the most recent meeting ending in a 3-1 win for Lincoln at the LNER Stadium.
Played for both:
Loanee, from Charlton, Conor McGrandles has enjoyed his first two games back for his second stint with the Imps, making 98 appearances for the club, along 19 for Charlton.
Elsewhere, former Addicks boss Michael Appleton, who was sacked last month, also managed Lincoln for 143 games between 2019-2022.
Centre-back Steve Thompson made 150 appearances for Lincoln between 1980-1985, before moving to Charlton. He played 95 games for the London-based side before re-joining Lincoln in 1989, where he retired the following year.
Finally, Goalkeeper Peter Wakeham played for both teams in the 1960s, making 55 appearances for the hosts between 1962-1965, then moving to Lincoln to make 44 appearances from 1965-1966.