Rovers return to the Keepmoat Stadium this weekend to take on Lincoln City in Sky Bet League One.
Darren Moore’s side are looking to get back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats for the first time this season.
Lincoln’s form
After winning their first four games of the league campaign, it took until October 10 for Lincoln to taste defeat, as they were beaten 2-1 at home to Bristol Rovers.
Lincoln have reacted well to that defeat though, and after a 0-0 draw at Fleetwood Town, they beat Plymouth Argyle 2-0 at Sincil Bank. Their good form has continued throughout October and their previous two outings have both yielded 1-0 victories – at home to Ipswich Town and away to Crewe Alexandra respectively.
The man in charge
Former Oxford manager was named as Lincoln boss after the departure of Danny Cowley to Huddersfield in September 2019.
After being in the job for just over a year, Appleton has overseen 43 of City’s fixtures, winning 19, drawing eight and losing 16, giving him an overall win percentage of 44.2%.
Ones to watch
Lewis Montsma
The young dutch defender joined the Imps in the summer from FC Dordrecht. Monstma is a product of the Heerenveen youth system, and spent a year with SC Cambuur before signing a professional deal at Dordrecht in 2018.
He signed a three-year deal with Lincoln.
Jorge Grant
The creative midfielder made his professional debut for Nottingham Forest in 2014 and scored his first goal for the club against Spurs in a League Cup tie in the 2014/15 campaign.
He has since spent time on loan with the likes of Notts County, Luton Town and Mansfield Town, before joining the Imps on a permanent deal in the summer of 2019.
Tom Hopper
Hopper joined Lincoln in January on a three-and-a-half-year contract from Southend United. Born in Lincolnshire, he started his career at Boston United and made his debut aged just 15.
After his breakthrough there he was snapped up by Leicester City, and featured in cup competitions before heading out on loan to Bury and Scunthorpe United. He made his move to the Iron a permanent one in 2015 and scored 23 times for them before joining Southend United in 2018. He scored 10 goals in 30 appearances prior to his move to Sincil Bank.
Last time out
Rovers beat Lincoln the last time the two sides met in Sky Bet League One in August 2019. Niall Ennis had given Darren Moore’s side the lead, before Jorge Grant levelled proceedings just before the hour mark. As the game headed into the final stages, Jon Taylor popped up to win it for Rovers with his first goal for the club.
More ahead of this match
Watch pre-match interviews
