Lincoln City travel north to Grimsby for the first Lincolnshire Derby in five years, as the two sides face off in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy at Blundell Park on Tuesday night (7:30pm KO).
The Imps currently sit without a point in this competition, having previously lost to Chesterfield 1-0. City also had their game against Manchester City U21’s postponed, through the request of the Premier League side.
Opposition: Grimsby Town
David Artell’s side currently sit 10th in SkyBet League Two, nine points clear of the drop zone and one point off Fleetwood in the final play-off spot.
Grimsby have won five of their first 10 games, losing the other five, with a goal difference of -4.
A 10-man Mariners side lost 3-0 on Saturday, after goals for Jordan Gibson and Luke Molyneux secured a comfortable win for Doncaster.
Team News:
Michael Skubala is expected to rotate his side for Tuesday’s match after saying his side has “a few tired legs” as they arrived for training on Monday.
Goal scorer against Leyton Orient, Jovon Makama is struggling with a groin issue, and it has been confirmed that he will miss the derby match.
Freddie Draper is also awaiting assessment with the physio, so is not expected to start tomorrow.
Ethan Hamilton made his first appearance back from a long-term injury on Saturday and is expected to feature on Tuesday night. Skubala has said that if he is to start, he won’t play the full 90 as he is “still building match minutes.”
Reeco Hackett could be “in contention” for the tie, Skubala has confirmed. It is unlikely he will start, but he may feature on the bench, with potential for him to come on at some stage.
As for Grimsby, head coach David Artell has said “any manager in this competition changes their team, it’s very rare that they don’t, and we’re no different.” as the Mariners look to play their first game in this competition.
Jordan Davies is going to miss the match on Tuesday, having sustained a hamstring injury against Notts County.
Head-to-Head:
Tuesday night’s match will be the 104th meeting between the two sides, with the Mariners coming out on top with 44 wins. Lincoln have won 30, and 29 matches have ended all square.
The first match came in the FA Cup in January 1885, with Grimsby coming out 1-0 winners of that tie.
As for recent history, the latest game finished with a 1-0 win for the Imps during their SkyBet League Two title winning season of 2018/19, thanks to a goal from fan favourite Harry Toffolo.
Played for Both:
Ciaran Toner played for both sides over his 15-year career. The Northern Irishman joined Lincoln City in 2004 from Leyton Orient, only playing 15 times and netting twice. He later directly joined the Mariners, where he featured 94 times and scored 14 goals, the most games played for one club in his career.
Currently, Jordan Wright plays for Grimsby after spending the previous two years as second choice at Lincoln City, behind Carl Rushworth and Lukas Jensen respectively. Wright has played five games so far this season for the Mariners, becoming second choice to Jake Eastwood for Grimsby’s most recent games.