Lincoln City face another big test today when they travel to Stockport County hoping to claim their first league away win in since September.
The Imps go into this one on the back of an impressive win over top of the table Cardiff City which took them to within three points of the Bluebirds.
Although, while Michael Skubala’s side would need a seven-goal swing to climb to the top themselves this Christmas weekend.
They will certainly be hoping that they can keep the pressure on the side that Sonny Bradley said: “I think will definitely get promoted.”
Opponents: Stockport County
The Hatters on the other hand come into this one sat just three points behind City despite winning just two of their last five Sky Bet League One games.
That form very much seems to follow many of the sides fighting for promotion as Dave Challinor’s side still sit in fifth place.
Most recently, they found a narrow 2-1 victory over relegation fighting Mansfield Town in which the side fell behind before Jack Diamond found the winner with 20 minutes to play.
That came after the greater Manchester side narrowly missed out on promotion last season as they finished in third place and lost out in the play-off semi-final to Leyton Orient.
Team News:
It’s a complicated period for all sides as they face up to a busy Christmas period with four games in nine days.
On how that is managed compared to the usual schedule head coach Michael Skubala said: “It’s probably harder in some ways.”
“The games in between are quite difficult because the festive period can always be quite long travel so we’re gonna have to utilise the players in the squad and make changes.”
Head-to-Head:
Last season was the first time that the two sides had faced off against each other since the 2010/11 season.
The results there seem to represent the two sides history against each other as both sides won their home games making it their 42nd victory against each other.
Lincoln City found a 2-1 victory at the LNER Stadium as a goal from Ben House just three minutes before the break was added to by Bailey Cadamarteri to overturn the visitor’s early lead.
In the penultimate game of last season, goals from Erik Ring and House put City 2-0 up before the Hatters turned the game around after the break to keep their promotion hopes alive.
Played for Both:
Given that the two sides spent so long apart from each other in recent years it isn’t a surprise that very few players have lined up for both.
The most well-known face is current Birmingham City goalkeeper Ryan Allsop who lined up 20 times for the Imps in their 2017/18 League Two winning campaign.
He had earlier spent a season on loan in Great Manchester but didn’t feature for the Hatters.
Another man to have worn the shirt for both sides is current Gainsborough Trinity striker Jonny Margetts who featured seven times for City in half a season.
That included a substitute appearance in that FA Cup Quarter-final against Arsenal which came after he’d spent time at Stockport the season prior.