Lincolnvs.Huddersfield

The visitors fell outside of the playoff spots on Saturday, while their hosts sit 12th following an away defeat of their own.

Match preview

Lincoln City return to action on Tuesday aiming to bounce back to winning ways and strengthen their top-half standing in League One, having seen their playoff hopes fade away in recent months.

Back-to-back victories in late January left the Imps in the top-six race on 38 points from 27 outings, but they have since added just 12 more points to that tally from 12 further attempts.

In that time, Michael Skubala's side have added just three notches to their wins column while suffering six defeats, with their most recent three-point haul coming in style in mid-March as Jovon Makama netted a hat-trick alongside goals from Tom Bayliss and James Collins in a 5-0 thrashing of Bristol Rovers.

They could only follow that up with a goalless draw at home to Exeter City, though, before visiting promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday and leaving empty-handed as Cameron Humphreys condemned them to a 1-0 defeat with the only goal soon after the hour mark.

Now sitting 12th and having fallen 12 points behind the playoff places with just seven games left to play, Lincoln City will focus on ending their campaign on a more positive note than in recent months to solidify their place in the top half with Stevenage just one point behind.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head to the LNER Stadium with far more to play for in the playoff hunt, having dropped back out of the top six following a thrashing at the weekend.

In their bid to win an immediate promotion back to the Championship this season, Huddersfield Town dismissed Michael Duff in early March, as a rut since mid-January saw them outside of the playoff places on 58 points from 36 outings, having overseen one win and four defeats in his last five games at the helm.

Jon Worthington then returned to the hot seat on an interim basis for the second time at the John Smith's Stadium and was able to oversee an instant rebound, as they regained sixth spot with a 5-1 thrashing of Crawley Town thanks to goals from Joe Taylor, Callum Marshall, Matty Pearson and Ruben Roosken and a Charlie Barker own goal.

The Terriers then faced a tough trip to fourth-placed Charlton Athletic on Saturday and came away empty-handed having suffered a thrashing of their own, as Tyreece Campbell netted a brace alongside a first-minute Matt Godden finish and a Lee Nicholls own goal in a 4-0 home triumph at the Valley.

Haven fallen back down to seventh spot as a result of that defeat, albeit only trailing sixth-placed Reading by a single point with eight games remaining, Huddersfield Town will be desperate to make a swift return to winning ways on Tuesday to strengthen their playoff bid in the final run-in.

Lincoln City League One form:

L

W

L

W

D

L

Huddersfield Town League One form:

L

W

L

L

W

L

Team News

Lincoln City head into Tuesday's game without defender Paudie O'Connor, who was sent off late in their weekend defeat to Wycombe Wanderers, while Jack Moylan, Lewis Montsma, Ethan Erhahon, Freddie Draper and Bailey Cadamarteri should remain sidelined by injuries.

James Collins will hope to displace Ben House and lead the line, having netted five goals in 13 league appearances since his January arrival, while Jovon Makama is a key man in the attack with a team-high tally of 11 goals so far this term.

Winger Erik Ring is a fresh injury concern at the weekend and could be replaced by James Gardner in the forward line if not deemed fit to start, while Tom Bayliss and Conor McGrandles should continue their midfield partnership in the centre of the Imps' 4-2-3-1 setup.

As has been the case for a large part of their campaign, Huddersfield Town are badly hit by injuries, with defenders Nigel Lonwijk, Tom Lees and Mickel Miller, midfielder Herbie Kane and attackers Danny Ward, Rhys Healey and Dion Charles all set to continue spells in the treatment room.

Defender Radinio Balker, midfielder David Kasumu and attacker Josh Koroma did return from layoffs to feature at the weekend, though, and Balker could again join Matty Pearson and Oliver Turton in a back three, while Kasumu and Jonathan Hogg will compete to come into the midfield.

They could replace Joe Hodge and Antony Evans alongside Ben Wiles, while Joe Taylor should again get the nod up front alongside Callum Marshall, who leads the squad with 10 goals so far this season.

Lincoln City possible starting lineup:

Wickens; Darikwa, Hamer, Jackson, Roughan; McGrandles, Bayliss; Makama, Hackett-Fairchild, Gardner; Collins

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:

Nicholls; Turton, Pearson, Balker; Spencer, Hogg, Kasumu, Wiles, Roosken; Marshall, Taylor

We say: Lincoln City 1-2 Huddersfield Town

Written by

Sam Varley

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