The Carabao Cup has given Lincoln City their only taste of victory so far this season as they take on Blackpool in the second round of the competition tonight at Bloomfield Road.
Last time out in the cup, the Imps were able to beat fellow EFL Championship opposition Derby County 2-1 thanks to goals scored by Ben House and Dom Jefferies at Pride Park.
Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen’s side will now look to continue their journey in the knockout competition, but to do so they will have to recover from the two back-to-back losses they have faced in the league.
City have fallen to defeats against both Middlesborough and Portsmouth in the first two matches of the 2026/27 Championship campaign, but its a long season and progression in the cup may give the Lincolnshire outfit a much needed boost.
Opponents: Blackpool
Unlike Lincoln, the Tangerines have enjoyed a solid start to their season in SkyBet League One, drawing 1-1 with Wycombe Wanderers before securing an impressive 2-1 win away from home against last years Play-off finalists Stockport County.
The Lancashire side will be looking to improve on their 13th place finish last campaign, and to do so, the club has already welcomed six new players to Bloomfield Road this summer transfer window.
In progressing to the second round of the Carabao Cup, Ian Evatt’s side were drawn up against Lincoln City’s close county rivals Grimsby Town at Blundell Park last time out.
Blackpool were more than up for the task, making the journey to Lincolnshire and securing a comfortable 3-1 win, with Niall Ennis, Josh Bowler and Kylian Kouassi all getting their names on the scoresheet.
Team news
Despite already being three games into the new season, none of Lincoln City’s six new arrivals have been given a competitive start heading into their knockout clash against Blackpool.
Tom Shaw said: “They’ve come in at certain parts of pre season where they are perhaps not fit.
“All of the new signings have been very, very positive on the training ground so we’re really excited to see some, if not all of them fly tomorrow at Blackpool, but we need to be a little bit patient with some stuff as well.
“They’ve come from their parent clubs or other clubs not quite at peak fitness so we’ve had to work with them on that, get them some minutes in the games, have a good graft at the EPC to get them up to speed, but we’re excited to see the majority of those in the coming few hours, weeks and months.”
Meanwhile, club captain Tendayi Darikwa picked up an injury and was substituted minutes before the hour mark in City’s previous outing against Portsmouth, with Shaw stating that it was “too early to tell” whether or not it was serious. In more positive news, the head coach confirmed that Sonny Bradley is set to return to the grass this week.
Head-to-head
With Lincoln City now being the Championship team, they will go in as favourites for their tie against third division side Blackpool.
In the Imps’ remarkable centurion season in League One last year, City took four points from tonight’s opponents – most notably thrashing Evatt’s side 4-0 at the ProAmpac Stadium at the end of February.
The reverse fixture last term, saw the Tangerines steal a late point at home against Michael Skubala’s Lincoln after coming back from 2-0 down, with Ashley Fletcher scoring the equaliser in the 85th minute to make it 2-2.
Overall, tonight’s underdogs have the large majority of wins from previous outings of the two sides, with Blackpool winning 37 and Lincoln winning just 14 since 1896.
Played for Both:
The most notable player to feature for both sides is Chelsea and England forward Morgan Rogers, who had loan spells at both Lincoln and Blackpool during his time as a Manchester City player.
The £117 million footballer joined the Imps first in January 2021, featuring 25 times in League One and netting six goals – most notably winning EFL Young Player of the Month in March, after a run of three goals in seven games.
Two years later, he linked up with Michael Appleton once again, this time at Bloomfield Road, for the remainder of the 2022/23 season.
He netted just one goal in 20 Championship appearances for Blackpool, with Appleton being sacked 14 days into Rogers’ loan spell, and the Seasiders suffering relegation.