Preview: Lincoln City vs. Cheltenham Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Cheltenham, meanwhile, have put together an unbeaten run of six games to move away from relegation danger.

Match preview

Lincoln's chances of securing a top-half finish have been dented by a poor run of form in recent weeks, with Mark Kennedy's side collecting only two points from their last five matches.

However, one of those came in some style away to automatic promotion contenders Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, with Daniel Mandroiu's 28th-minute equaliser proving enough to claim a precious point at Hillsborough.

Kennedy's side have proven tough to beat all season, with only League One's top four teams losing fewer matches during the campaign. However, only the bottom four sides have won fewer matches, with the Imps drawing exactly half of their 38 league matches.

Indeed, Lincoln have only scored two or more goals in a match once in their last 15 league outings - when beating Accrington Stanley 3-0 away from home in February - so those in attendance at Sincil Bank on Friday would dearly love to see their side cut loose against Cheltenham.

That could prove difficult for the hosts given that Cheltenham have kept four clean sheets in their last six games, though, including when these two sides drew 0-0 at Whaddon Road last month.

Having flirted with relegation danger for the majority of the campaign, 12 points from an unbeaten run of six matches have moved the Robins 10 points clear of the relegation zone ahead of this weekend's action.

Despite amassing 22 shots against Burton Albion on Saturday, Wade Elliott's side could not break their opponents down as the two sides played out a goalless draw, which in truth was no disaster for either side.

Elliott will have his eyes set on going one better than his predecessor Michael Duff, who guided Cheltenham to a 15th-placed finish last season before joining Barnsley during the summer. Victory on Friday would see Elliott's side leapfrog their opponents and potentially move into 14th position in the table.

Lincoln City League One form:

W

D

L

L

L

D

Cheltenham Town League One form:

W

D

W

W

D

D

Team News

Having exceeded expectations to claim a point away to league leaders Sheffield Wednesday last time out, Kennedy is unlikely to make any changes to his starting XI, meaning that Mandroiu is set to be joined in attack by Ben House.

Luke Plange will offer an interesting option from the bench should Lincoln struggle to break their opponents down, though, with Kennedy hoping to be able to name a full matchday squad after only having six substitutes to call upon at Hillsborough.

Cheltenham, meanwhile, made only one change during their 0-0 draw against Burton, with Taylor Perry replacing Glen Rea during the latter stages of the encounter.

That would suggest that, despite failing to find the crucial breakthrough, Elliott was happy with the dominant nature of his side's performance and he may be content to select the same starting XI in Lincolnshire on Friday.

Lincoln City possible starting lineup:

Rushworth; Sorensen, Poole, Jackson, Roughan, Boyes; Virtue, Sanders, Bishop; Mandroiu, House

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:

Southwood; Broom, Long, Taylor, Bradbury, Ferry; Rea, Sercombe, Olayinka; May, Keena

We say: Lincoln City 1-1 Cheltenham Town

With both teams almost completely safe from any lingering fears of relegation, we expect this to be a slightly more entertaining match than the goalless stalemate played out in Gloucestershire last month.

However, both managers are keen to build on a strong defence, hence why these sides have averaged scoring fewer than one goal per game across the course of the game. We can envisage a low-scoring draw.

Previews by email