Lincoln City will hope to avoid suffering a second successive cup exit in the space of a few days when they travel to face Bristol City in Tuesday's EFL Cup third-round tie.
The hosts played out a 1-1 Championship draw with Middlesbrough at the weekend, while Lincoln were on the wrong end of an FA Cup shock against Chippenham Town.
Match preview
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A marvellous start to the Championship season in the summer has now paled into insignificance for Bristol City, whose winless run in the second tier stretched to four games with a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.
Captain Andreas Weimann had put Nigel Pearson's side in the ascendancy before Chuba Akpom levelled for Boro just two minutes into the second half, meaning that Pearson's side have taken just two points from the last 12 on offer during a dismal downturn in fortunes.
The Robins have won just two of their last 12 matches in the Championship as they prepare to resume EFL Cup duties, having seen off Coventry City 4-1 in the first round before a 3-1 second-round success over Wycombe Wanderers away from home.
A third-round appearance in the EFL Cup has only happened once for Bristol City in the past four seasons - three first-round exits have bedevilled the hosts since reaching the semi-finals of the 2017-18 edition - but they will certainly receive a boost from their opponents' recent cup troubles.
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Not all Lincoln fans were impressed with Mark Kennedy's decision to line up with a three-man defence in their FA Cup clash with non-league Chippenham Town, and the League One strugglers soon became the latest victims of an FA Cup giant killing on Saturday.
Joe Hanks's 44th-minute goal for the hosts sent them through to the second round of the FA Cup at the expense of the Imps, who have little time to dwell on that disappointment as they aim to restore order in the EFL Cup.
After beating Doncaster Rovers 3-0 in the first round, Lincoln needed penalties to get the better of Barrow in round two, and the Imps have never managed to progress beyond the third round of the EFL Cup, but the 2022-23 season marks just the second time in 18 years that the visitors have made it this far.
Kennedy's men have their own winless run to correct this week, as defeat to Chippenham made it three games without success for the goal-shy visitors, and Tuesday's battle marks the first game between Bristol City and Lincoln since the 1958-59 second division, with the Robins doing the double over the Imps that year.
Team News
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Bristol City right-back George Tanner remains out through suspension and will serve the second of a three-game ban, while Tomas Kalas and Kal Naismith are both in the treatment room.
Rob Atkinson was not ready to return from illness in the draw with Middlesbrough and will also need assessing ahead of the EFL Cup tie, but the hosts picked up no fresh concerns over the weekend.
Han-Noah Massengo has been restricted to the Under-21s recently but could force his way back into the side here, while Daniel Bentley and Chris Martin are among those also hoping to come back into the fray.
As for Lincoln City, goalkeeper Carl Rushworth was not cleared to participate against Chippenham due to a head injury, but he will be aiming to return to the squad for this showdown.
Jordan Wright will retain possession of the gloves if Rushworth is not cleared to take part, but Teddy Bishop returned from a hamstring injury to make the first XI at the weekend.
Lewis Montsma, Daniel Mandroiu and Joe Walsh all remain sidelined for the visitors, who should not shy away from making changes in the wake of Saturday's shock loss.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Low, Klose, Vyner; Semenyo, King, Massengo, Dasilva; Weimann; Martin, Bell
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Wright; Jackson, O'Connor, Roughan; Poole, Sorensen, Virtue, Robson; Garrick, Draper, Diamond
We say: Bristol City 2-0 Lincoln City
Confidence levels in the Lincoln camp would have hit a new low with the weekend's FA Cup embarrassment, and meeting a higher-tier side will not help the discontent from the visiting end either.
Bristol City have not covered themselves in glory in recent weeks either, but Pearson's side should have enough quality to make it through to the next phase of the EFL Cup.
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Top tip
Ben Knapton
