Lincoln City face Burton Albion in a sold out LNER Stadium for a midweek fixture in Sky Bet League One.
The Imps are currently in soaring form, sitting second in the table after a hard-fought point against Luton Town five days ago, with first half finishes from Freddie Draper and Rob Street being enough to share the points at Kenilworth Road.
That result made it nine games unbeaten in the league for the Lincolnshire club.
Opponents: Burton Albion
Although Burton sit one point adrift from the relegation zone, the Brewers will not be undeterred.
A convincing 3-1 win against playoff placed Huddersfield Town last Saturday will give the Staffordshire based team a huge boost – a game which led to the dismissal of Huddersfield head-coach Lee Grant.
Before that, Burton extended their FA Cup run, battering non-league side Boreham Wood 0-5 away from home, booking themselves a match against Premier League side West Ham United in the next round.
“They are a really tough team to play against,” said Lincoln head-coach Michael Skubala when asked about Burton’s form.
“They have been good, especially away from home. They’ve beaten Cardiff and Bradford away from home, got a point at Stevenage. They’ve beat some top teams on the road.”
Team News
Michael Skubala said the Burton game might be “too soon” for any of his players to return from injury.
City’s head-coach did say however that Ben House and Tom Bayliss are progressing fast, commenting “hopefully we will see them not before too long.”
Centre back Adam Jackson is “not far behind” the recovery of House and Bayliss. Whilst Oscar Thorn is still “a bit further away”.
New signing Alfie Lloyd is expected to join the squad this evening, the Queens Park Rangers loanee will be eager to impress, as he still hunts for his first league goal of the campaign.
Skubala says that new signings are on the way, as the club are “working behind the scenes to add to the group.” But he definitely ruled the Thursday fixture as “too soon” for any new players.
Head-to-head
This will be the third time these teams have faced off so far this season, with Lincoln City winning 1-0 at the Pirelli Stadium on both of the previous occasions, first in the EFL Cup, and then in League One.
A headed goal from Sonny Bradley was what separated the sides in the league fixture back in September.
Last time Burton Albion made the trip to Lincoln was in February 2025, when they secured a 1-0 victory via late drama in the form of an added time goal, scored by Charlie Webster.
Jake Beesley will be a player to watch, as he currently boasts seven goal contributions in his last seven games in all competitions in a Burton shirt.
For Lincoln City, Freddie Draper has now scored in back-to-back league matches, and will be hoping to extend his scoring streak tonight.
Played for Both:
Lincoln City’s JJ McKieran has been loaned out to Burton for a full season after impressing in the original six month loan deal agreed in January.
The Northern Irish international has featured 32 times for Burton across his two separate loan spells at the club, netting two goals in that time.
Defender Tom Hamer was signed by the Imps from Burton last summer after he made 147 appearances for the Brewers, the defender has already made 49 appearances for the Skubala’s side.
Michael Bostwick and Neal Eardley are also two names who both left the Imps for Burton Albion. Bostwick played over 100 games for City, before leaving to feature 38 times for the Brewers, while right-back Eardley played 122 games for Lincoln and just ten for Burton.