Lincoln City host League One strugglers Cambridge United at Sincil Bank on Saturday afternoon.
Coming off the back of a 0-0 stalemate against Milton Keynes Dons, Lincoln City only have a slight amount of breathing room away from the relegation spots, while Cambridge United were dismantled 5-1 against Shrewsbury Town in their last fixture.
Match preview
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Lincoln City have slipped into an unsavoury position in the league due to a poor run of seven games without a victory, sending them crashing into a potential relegation battle.
It has been a goalscoring threat that the hosts have lacked this season, scoring only 24 goals in the league so far - just one goal ahead of the lowest-scoring team in League One.
In the seven-game streak without a win that Lincoln City are currently enduring, they have only managed to score a maximum of one goal in every game that they have played.
Thiat has left them lingering six points above the relegation zone and in 16th place in the League One table.
With the second-lowest possession total in the league, it is expected that the hosts will not dominate the ball in this affair, but will choose their moments to go forward to hurt Cambridge United in transitions.
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Meanwhile, Cambridge United are currently winless in their previous four games and have conceded a total of 13 goals within those games.
After a hat-trick of defeats, it was likely that the message from Mark Bonner in the Shrewsbury Town game was to stay in the encounter and stay defensively compact.
However, that did not manifest itself within the confines of the match, as Luke Leahy scored a brace in a six-goal thriller, ending 5-1 in favour of Shrewsbury Town.
The result took many by surprise, as before kickoff Shrewsbury Town had recorded 27 goals in the league, only five ahead of Cambridge United, leaving some questions pending over their ability to shut out the opposition.
Those questions will need answering in Cambridge United's next fixtures, as the fans and head coach will be looking for a response from a side that has shipped five goals in a single match twice this year already.
The recent head-to-head results favour Cambridge United, with them winning both games played against Lincoln City in 2022, which could give them a psychological edge over their opponents.
Team News
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Mark Kennedy is expected to make a shift in formation for this outing while making a total of five changes to the side that drew to Milton Keynes Dons.
Timothy Eyoma and Joe Walsh could start in defence for Lincoln, replacing Adam Jackson and Harry Boyes with a change of formation to a back three.
In the midfield, Matthew Virtue may take the place of Lasse Sorensen.
Charles Vernam and Ben House should start against Cambridge United, with Teddy Bishop and Tom Hopper set to be benched for this affair.
Cambridge United are also set to make major changes to the side that was thumped by Shrewsbury Town in their last outing.
Mark Bonner will return to a 4-2-3-1 formation with Lloyd Jones, Zeno Ibsen Rossi and Harrison Dunk all expected to take the place of Liam Bennett, Jubril Okedina and Ryan Bennett.
Jack Lankester is also set to replace Shilow Tracey in the forward line due to the formation switch to an attacking midfielder.
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Rushworth; Walsh, O'Connor, Eyoma; Poole, Sanders, Virtue, Roughan; Vernam, House, Diamond
Cambridge United possible starting lineup:
Mannion; Williams, Jones, Rossi, Dunk; Digby, Worman; Brophy, Lankester, Knibbs; Smith
We say: Lincoln City 1-2 Cambridge United
We believe that Cambridge United are going to upset the odds in this fixture and pull off a victory to potentially lift them out of the relegation zone.
We think that the 5-1 loss to Shrewsbury Town will conjure a reaction and that Lincoln City's poor run of results will be compounded by a 2-1 loss at home to Cambridge United.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
