Burton Albion will be aiming to move level on points with Lincoln City in League One by beating them at Pirelli Stadium on Saturday.
The visitors have failed to win any of their last nine league games, with five of those matches ending as draws.
Match preview
© Reuters
Burton, meanwhile, have moved five points clear of the relegation zone by improving their results in recent weeks. Martin Paterson was brought in as manager on January 11, dramatically losing 3-2 away to Derby County in his first game in charge, but he has followed that up with four points from two games.
After dispatching Charlton Athletic 2-0 in his only home game in charge so far, Burton claimed a point away to Cambridge United in the form of a 0-0 draw last weekend. It was an excellent result for the visitors given that Steve Seddon was dismissed for a second bookable offence after 64 minutes.
Indeed, Cambridge dominated proceedings as you would expect considering their numerical advantage for more than half-an-hour, as they racked up 20 shots and 71% possession. However, Max Crocombe was only forced into one more save (four) than his opposite goalkeeper, illustrating the Brewers' defensive organisation under Paterson's management.
With six wins and two draws from their last 10 home games in League One, it would be fair to assert that Burton's home form is keeping them outside of the bottom four at present. A fourth win in five home games on Saturday would see them move level on points with Lincoln, who will head into the contest in the top half of the table.
© Reuters
Indeed, Lincoln have firmly established themselves as a solid third tier club since winning League Two in 2019, losing in the playoff final in the 2020-21 season before finishing in the top half once again last time out.
However, since dismissing Mark Kennedy in October, the Imps' results have not picked up as much as they would have hoped. Leeds United's former Under-21s head coach Michael Skubala was selected as Kennedy's successor, but the 41-year-old has only won two of his 14 matches in charge in all competitions so far.
That said, successive home stalemates against Derby and Peterborough United have somewhat steadied the ship. Those two sides are both firmly in the mix for automatic promotion this season, whereas Lincoln would gladly settle for a repeat of last season's 11th-placed finish.
If they are to maintain their top half status, though, they will need to pick up more wins sooner rather than later. Their last victory came in the form of an emphatic 3-0 win away to Cambridge in late November, so they would gladly take a repeat of that away day high in Staffordshire this weekend.
Team News
© Reuters
Burton will travel without Seddon, who will serve a one-match suspension after his red card against Cambridge last time out. Tolaji Bola will almost certainly replace the 26-year-old at left wing-back.
Otherwise, Paterson is unlikely to make any changes to his starting XI, as he will be hoping for a repeat of his side's last home game when they defeated Charlton 2-0.
Lincoln, meanwhile, welcomed Daniel Mandroiu back to their matchday squad against Peterborough last weekend. The 25-year-old had been dropped for disciplinary reasons, but Skubala appears to have drawn a line under those after bringing the attacking midfielder on as a second-half substitute during the 0-0 draw.
Having blanked in three of their last four matches, Skubala could be contemplating making some attacking changes, meaning that Mandroui could be in line for a starting berth.
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Crocombe; Moon, Brayford, Sweeney; Caprice, Powell, Oshilaja, Bola; Bennett, Helm; Hugill
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Sorensen, Mitchell, Jackson, Roughan; Hamilton, Bishop, Erhahon, Hackett-Fairchild; Mandroui, Taylor
We say: Burton Albion 0-0 Lincoln City
Both of these teams prefer to soak up possession before hitting their opponents in transition, meaning that they may struggle to adapt to taking the game to each other on Saturday.
They were both involved in 0-0 stalemates last weekend, and we would not be surprised to see another one play out at Pirelli Stadium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Brett Curtis
