It was just five years ago that Lincoln City were out of the English Football League altogether, with the Imps competing in the Vanarama National League in the 2016/17 season. In fact, that very season was one the Imps and their supporters will remember for a long time, as the club went on an unprecedented cup run advancing to the quarterfinals of the Emirates FA Cup. The club would also earn automatic promotion back into the EFL as champions of the National League after five years outside of the EFL.
With Michael Appleton now in his third season as manager of Lincoln City, he brings his Imps side into this weekend’s Sky Bet League One fixture with Doncaster Rovers sitting 15th in the league table on 20 points. The Imps have won eight, lost seven and drawn six across all competitions so far.
Lincoln have scored 20 goals this season and have conceded 20. In League One, the Imps have won three of their last 10 matches, picking up three losses and four draws.
Away from the friendly confines of LNER Stadium, the Imps have won four, lost three and collected four draws in all competitions this season.
However, they are very rarely out of a game and have only been beaten by more than one goal twice this season.
They have also only beaten an opponent by more than a one-goal difference twice, with those being a 5-1 win away to Cambridge United in a league fixture, and a 3-0 win away to Bradford City in the Papa John’s Trophy so supporters can expect another close match this weekend.
The two games in which they were beaten by more than a single goal – away to Oxford United (3-1) in August, and away to Morecambe (2-0) in September.
In October, Lincoln City were involved in three separate 2-1 matches (collecting a win in two of those fixtures), a pair of 1-1 games and a 2-2 contest (at home versus Plymouth Argyle). In their last match, the Imps registered a 1-0 win over Bowers & Pitsea in the opening round of the FA Cup.
Lincoln City relies heavily on two players to supply the goals, most notably forward Anthony Scully. The Republic of Ireland international has bagged 21 goals since his arrival to LNER Stadium in February 2020. This season, he leads the Imps offensive attack with seven goals scored, adding three assists. The goal contribution rate drops off considerably behind Scully, as Scotland international Lewis Fiorini is second on the team in that department with three goals scored. From his midfield position on the pitch, Teddy Bishop is tied for the team lead with three assists, matching the number supplied by Scully and Chris Maguire. Only one other player has more than a single goal scored in the campaign for the Imps – that being Conor McGrandles with two.
For his scoring efforts, Scully was named as the Sky Bet League One Player of the Month in September.
The Imps have only been kept off the score sheet once since the beginning of October – a span of eight games, and that result being a 1-0 defeat at home to AFC Wimbledon on 19 October.
Though they’ve only faced off against each other four times over the course of the past five years, it has been Doncaster Rovers owning wins in all four of those contests against the Imps. Last season, Rovers picked up a pair of 1-0 wins against the Imps.
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