Lincoln City will host Portsmouth on Tuesday night in their latest League One fixture, and with just five points separating them in the table, it promises to be a closely contested match.
Both teams are in good form as of late, having their own respective undefeated runs which they each be keen to continue in midweek.
Match preview
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Lincoln City have gone five games in a row without a defeat in all competitions, but it has been back-to-back draws in League One for the Imps.
Conor McGrandles found the back of the net against Shrewsbury Town to earn a 1-1 result, but in their most recent outing, it was a goalless encounter with Doncaster Rovers that saw them share the spoils.
The squad are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league so far, which has been a problem for them in terms of getting results over the line.
However, they have been strong in their defensive performances, which has been highlighted by the fact they have kept consecutive clean sheets.
At the moment, Michael Appleton's club are just six points above the relegation zone, which places extra focus on their upcoming matches to climb the table.
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For Portsmouth, they are enjoying an unbeaten run of seven matches across all competitions and that is something that is helping them as they fight for a potential promotion.
Right now they are just five points away from the playoffs and Danny Cowley shall be keen to put pressure on those above them in the division.
Pompey have been strong defensively recently, having four clean sheets in their last six games which is something that has stood them in good stead.
While they did concede at the weekend, the team were able to fight back from behind with goals from Michael Jacobs and Marcus Harness helping them to secure three points.
It marked the second game in a row where Harness was able to find the back of the net and his confidence is something that will likely provide a threat on Tuesday.
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Team News
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Anthony Scully made his return to the Lincoln City starting lineup at the weekend, which was a big boost to the team considering he is the top goalscorer for the club.
However, club captain Liam Bridcutt did not feature against Doncaster due to a problem with his knee and that is something that will see him miss out on Tuesday as well.
Lee Brown is going to be unavailable on Tuesday due to suspension and that will force a change defensively for Portsmouth, with Connor Ogilvie potentially set to shuffle across after filling in as a central defender lately.
Clark Robertson will also be missing for Pompey, with the captain having been out of action due to injury, while John Marquis could be able to return, at least to the squad following his tendon problem.
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Griffiths; Poole, Montsma, Jackson, Robson; McGrandles, Scully, Sorensen, Maguire, Fiorini; Nlundulu
Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Romeo, Raggett, Ogilvie, Freeman; Jacobs, Harness, Williams, Thompson; Marquis, Curtis
We say: Lincoln City 0-2 Portsmouth
Both teams have been strong defensively recently, which is something that has helped them put together some good runs as of late.
However, Portsmouth are higher up the league table for a reason and their quality in the attack is something that should allow them to take all three points.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Lincoln City win with a probability of 46.23%. A win for Portsmouth had a probability of 27.9% and a draw had a probability of 25.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lincoln City win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.22%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.16%) and 2-0 (8.36%). The likeliest Portsmouth win was 0-1 (8.26%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.3%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 1.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that Portsmouth would win this match.
