Lincoln City will hope to return to winning ways as they travel to face an out of form Crawley Town in SkyBet League One this evening.
The Imps were unbeaten in seven league games before they were beaten by table topping Birmingham City at the LNER Stadium last time out. A first home goal for Bailey Cadamarteri was the sole positive on a difficult afternoon that included a missed Reeco Hackett penalty.
Michael Skubala’s side will now hope to bounce back with a quick turnaround for the seven-hour round trip to Sussex.
Opposition: Crawley Town
Competing in the third tier for the first time in a decade, it has been a tricky return to League One for the Red Devils. Having begun the season with two victories, Crawley have now gone 12 matches in all competitions without a win.
The misery was compounded on September 25, as highly regarded manager Scott Lindsey left the club to join League Two outfit MK Dons. The 52-year-old was credited with being the mastermind behind their remarkable play-off win, which saw them promoted last term.
Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot was appointed as the new boss at the start of October, on a two-and-a-half-year deal. The 38-year-old left Gateshead to make the step up to League One, having won the FA Trophy with them last season.
The new manager is yet to pick up any points in his short time in charge, and has already faced criticism as his side conceded 13 goals in their last three matches.
Team News:
As confirmed last week, Imps midfielder Tom Bayliss will be out for several months after suffering a knee ligament injury. There are a few players who are “tough and go” according to Skubala, after the visit of the Blues on Saturday.
However, Skubala confirmed Ben House was back in training prior to the Birmingham clash, and despite not making the squad for that one, he could be in contention for this evening’s game.
For the home side, Josh Flint will likely return to the starting line-up after serving his suspension for the red card he was shown vs Shrewsbury Town. Jay Williams will also be available again after serving a yellow card accumulation ban.
Head-to-Head:
It is a fixture which has been scarcely competed in history, with just four meetings between the sides, all coming in League Two between 2017 and 2019.
The first meeting at The LNER Stadium was a goalless draw, before Crawley won the next two 3-1 and 1-0. City’s current only victory over tonight’s opponents came on March 23, 2019 with Bruno Andrade, Shay McCartan and Cian Bolger scoring the goals in a 3-0 win that day.
Played for Both:
There are no members of either current squad that have played for both squads and with Crawley having spent the majority of their history in the non-league pyramid there are few who have crossed the divide.
However, current Wrexham frontman Ollie Palmer played for both clubs in recent memory. The now 32-year-old signed for the Imps in 2017, scoring 11 goals in his first season before earning a move to Crawley in 2018.