Lincoln City welcome current top of the table side Cardiff City to the LNER Stadium tomorrow in a game that could define their season.
The Imps have very much relied on their home form this season and they will need it again as they face up to a side unbeaten in five league games.
They currently sit third in the table and come into this one following last week’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Blackpool.
Michael Skubala’s side went 2-0 up inside the first 20 minutes thanks to Jack Moylan and Rob Street.
However, they were later pegged back with goals from Lee Evans and Ashley Fletcher either side of the break.
Opponents: Cardiff City
Their opponents on the other hand come into this one on the back of a Carabao Cup defeat to Club World Cup winners Chelsea in the week.
However, before that the side found a narrow victory over Doncaster Rovers in which Joel Bagan found a 99th minute winner after the Bluebirds were pegged back twice.
In the two games prior to that the South Wales outfit also found victories over fellow promotion pushers Stevenage and Huddersfield Town.
Alongside that, Brian Barry-Murphy’s side also scored eight goals in those three league games pushing them to the top of the goalscoring table on 36.
Team News:
The side now head into a busy Christmas period with head-coach Michael Skubala admitting that he will have to use his full squad over the coming games.
He said: “We have to use the squad, we’re gonna have to rotate but I trust the squad. We’re going to need everybody you might see players play 60 minutes in one game with the view to play 30 in the next.”
There are no fresh injuries to report for Skubala’s side but he did say that James Collins has had an operation after the ACL injury he suffered in the Vertu Trophy.
He also said that defender Lewis Montsma has been available after his return from injury but has been held back by the quality of the defenders in the side.
Head-to-head:
Games between these two sides have been relatively few and far between with the two teams facing off against each other on 28 occasions.
However, in that time the meetings have been fairly even with just one victory separating the teams.
Past meetings may go slightly out of the window in this one though as the two sides haven’t faced off against each other since 2001.
That time out, the Imps found one of their 11 victories as they won 2-0 in what was then the English Third Division.
The visitors this weekend have found victory once more having won the clash 12 times since 1948.
Played for both:
On a similar note, very few players have played for both sides with the biggest name being current Lincoln City striker James Collins.
He joined the Imps in January of this year and has since gone on to make 55 appearances for the side scoring 16 goals along the way.
He joined from Derby County who he joined after a season with the Bluebirds in 2021/22 he made 30 appearances there and went on to score just three goals.