Lincoln City will aim to climb through the middle of the League One table and towards the playoff places on Saturday, when they welcome Burton Albion to Sincil Bank.
While the Imps currently find themselves 14th in England's third tier after an away defeat last weekend, they do boast games in hand on every team around them in a crowded mid-table, while their visitors are just two points worse off in 18th spot.
Match preview
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Lincoln City head into the weekend on the back of a mixed start to their latest League zone campaign, as they currently sit on 15 points from their opening 10 outings courtesy of four wins, three draws and three defeats.
That is largely thanks to a fine run between mid-August and mid-September, as they bounced back from an opening-day defeat by going unbeaten in six league outings, starting with victories over Wycombe Wanderers, Shrewsbury Town and Blackpool in a four-game span and culminating in draws with Bristol Rovers and Carlisle United.
That run was eventually halted, though, and Mark Kennedy's side have now suffered two defeats in their last three outings, firstly falling just short in a 2-1 loss away at league leaders Portsmouth before beating Cheltenham Town 2-0 courtesy of Lasse Sorensen's early brace.
Then following the unfortunate suspension of their contest away at Leyton Orient, the Imps' last league outing came away against Peterborough United last weekend, and they would fall to a 2-0 defeat as David Ajiboye and Joel Randall netted second-half goals to send Kennedy's men down to 14th place, although that may be seen as somewhat of a false position at this stage, having only played 10 third-tier games thus far while every other League one side have played 11 or 12, with just a one-point gap up to the top 10 and a five-point gap to the playoff places.
Now on the back of a 2-0 EFL Trophy victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-21s on Tuesday, thanks to goals from Hakeeb Adelakun and Jovon Makama, Lincoln City will turn their focus back to their league pursuits with the aim of quickly climbing through the pack with the majority of sides not in action due to the international break.
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They meet a Burton Albion side who are fighting to continue an impressive upturn in form in their trip to Sincil Bank, with the Brewers having bounced back in style after a tough start to the third-tier campaign.
In their opening seven outings of the season, Dino Maamria's side picked up just two points, as they scored just two goals and conceded 11 in that time, before finally putting a first three-point haul on the board at the eighth attempt away at Port Vale in mid-September, with Beryly Lubala, Steve Seddon and Kwadwo Baah on the scoresheet.
That result has since formed the foundations of an unbeaten run for the Brewers, who have now not lost in any of their last five league matches, firstly following that away triumph up with back-to-back draws with Fleetwood Town and Reading, before returning to winning ways at home to Wigan Athletic at the beginning of October, initially trailing 1-0 at the interval before Joe Powell turned the game on its head with a brace in the final 25 minutes.
Cambridge United were then the latest visitors to the Pirelli Stadium on Monday, and Maamria's side produced a second straight 2-1 victory to continue their impressive run, with Josh Walker and Deji Oshilaja netting their goals in the first half.
Having quickly put their dismal start behind them to move up to 18th place with 13 points on the board, Burton Albion will be keen to continue building at the weekend with a victory at Sincil Bank which would see them leapfrog their hosts and could trigger a climb into the top half.
Team News
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Mark Kennedy rotated his Lincoln City side heavily heading into Tuesday's EFL Trophy game, and despite their 2-0 victory, he should revert to a similar starting XI which featured against Peterborough last weekend, with Paudie O'Connor and Adam Jackson bound to come back in and rejoin Alex Mitchell in the middle of the defence.
Hakeeb Adelakun should continue to lead the line after his midweek goal, while Daniel Mandroiu and Reeco Hackett-Fairchild will likely join him in a front three.
Hackett-Fairchild has chipped in with two league goals so far this term, as have Lasse Sorensen, Teddy Bishop and Ethan Hamilton, all of whom will fight to start in midfield, as will Ethan Erhahon, who has featured in every minute of league action for the Imps so far this term.
Burton Albion may opt to deploy an unchanged starting XI from last weekend's win over Cambridge United, although Maamria has a decision to make in attack as Beryly Lubala returns to contention after serving a suspension in that game.
He will fight to rejoin Josh Walker, who started as a lone striker and scored in his absence last time out, with Mason Bennett also vying for a starting berth up front, while Joe Powell will continue to offer further attacking support from midfield, having notched up three League One goals so far this season including a double in their win over Wigan Athletic.
Behind him and Deji Oshilaja in midfield, with captain John Brayford sidelined, Sam Hughes and Ryan Sweeney will again partner up in the middle of a back four, with Tom Hamer and Steve Seddon continuing to complete the defence on the right and left-hand sides respectively.
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Burroughs, O'Connor, Jackson, Mitchell, Roughan; Hamilton, Erhahon; Hackett-Fairchild, Adelakun, Mandroiu
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Crocombe; Hamer, Hughes, Sweeney, Seddon; Baah, Oshilaja, Powell, Carayol; Walker, Lubala
We say: Lincoln City 1-1 Burton Albion
While Lincoln will bid to return to winning ways and improve on their promising league position at the weekend, Burton Albion travel with momentum on their side, and we fancy them to take a share of the spoils at Sincil Bank.
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