Stevenage make the 222 mile-round trip to the LNER Stadium this Saturday for a huge clash with Lincoln City…
With just twelve matches remaining in Sky Bet League One, every fixture is as vital as the next as the race for play-offs heats up. Boro sit sixth in the table, a point above Oxford United who have played one extra game.
Stevenage come into this fixture off the back of two huge wins at The Lamex Stadium in the space of four days. Firstly, it was Wycombe who came to town and suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Carl Piergianni’s left-footed strike, before Jordan Roberts scored the game’s only goal in a win over Cambridge.
This Saturday, Boro go back on their travels and will be met with a rather difficult challenge as Lincoln City look to ruin their chances of finishing in the play-off places. Earlier in the season, Stevenage overcame the Imps in a 1-0 victory at The Lamex Stadium.
The Opposition
Lincoln themselves will be coming into this game full of confidence as they look to make it ten consecutive games unbeaten in League One. From their last nine games, they have earned five wins and four draws, having not lost a game since New Years’ Day.
The Imps sit in tenth place, eight points behind Stevenage as they look for a late play-off push. Over the course of the campaign, they have been rather inconsistent, but their nine consecutive unbeaten games will give the side a boost of confidence.
On Tuesday, Lincoln hosted Shrewsbury Town at the LNER Stadium and played out an impressive 3-0 victory, with Teddy Bishop, Reeco Hackett-Fairchild and Lasse Sorensen grabbing the goals.
The Imps do not have a standout regular goal scorer, but there are multiple players in the current squad who have found the back of the net this season. Reeco Hackett-Fairchild and Lasse Sorensen sit at the top of their goalscoring charts this season, with six each to their name.
The Manager
Michael Skubala was appointed as Head Coach back in November, with his first game as Lincoln boss being the 1-0 defeat to Stevenage at The Lamex Stadium. So far, he has guided the Imps further up the table, having lost just six of his 20 games in charge.
Before his stint with Lincoln, he spent time as Leeds United’s U21 Head Coach before briefly being appointed as Interim Manager of the first team in the Premier League.
The Stadium
Lincoln have played their home games at the LNER Stadium since it opened back in 1895. The overall capacity of the ground is 10,669, with a record attendance of 23,196 being set in 1967 as Lincoln hosted Derby County. If travelling by train, the nearest station is Lincoln Central Train Station, which is just a 15-minute walk from the ground.
Officials
Robert Madley has been appointed as Match Referee for Saturday’s game, with Andrew Aylott and Wayne Grunnill as Assistants, and Johnathon Bickerdike as Fourth Official. Madley has handed out 93 yellow cards and four reds in 19 games so far this season.