Lincoln City vs Portsmouth - prediction, team news, lineups

Lincoln will play their first home game in the second tier since 1961 when they welcome Portsmouth to Sincil Park on Saturday.

The Imps started the Championship season with a narrow defeat to Middlesbrough, while Portsmouth fell to a 3-1 loss against Queens Park Rangers.

Match preview

Lincoln are competing in the second tier for the first time in 65 years after storming to the League One title last term, as they racked up 103 points from 46 games to finish 12 points clear of second-placed Cardiff City.

Their impressive season ultimately came at the cost of losing their manager Michael Skubala to established Championship club Bristol City.

Rather than make an external appointment, the Lincoln hierarchy decided to promote Skubala's two assistants, Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw, to lead the club as joint head coaches.

The pair started their tenure with a 2-1 away win over Derby County in the EFL Cup first round, before Lincoln came out the wrong side of the same scoreline in their Championship opener against Middlesbrough.

Adam Reach gave the Imps a half-time lead at the Riverside Stadium, but Will Lankshear's second-half brace, including a 91st-minute winner, left Lincoln with nothing to show for their efforts in a valiant display against a likely promotion contender.

The Imps will be desperate to get on the board with a win on Saturday, but that will be easier said than done for a team that have never beaten Pompey at home in seven previous attempts (D1, L6).

Portsmouth, meanwhile, are competing in the Championship for a third consecutive season after avoiding the drop with 16th and 18th-placed finishes in the last two seasons.

John Mousinho's side will need to produce better performances than the one they offered in the recent 3-1 defeat against Queens Park Rangers if they are to avoid another relegation fight.

Terry Devlin opened the scoring with a long-range effort, but Portsmouth were cut open defensively as they shipped three goals before the half-time interval at Fratton Park.

A goalless second period ultimately saw the south coast side fall to their first home defeat against QPR since May 2000.

Pompey may fancy their chances of producing a better defensive performance in Saturday's fixture, considering they have kept clean sheets in four of their previous six competitive matches against Lincoln (W4, D2).

The visitors are bidding for a third consecutive head-to-head victory after completing a league double in the 2023-24 season, including a 2-0 win at Sincil Bank.

Lincoln City Championship form:

Lincoln City form (all competitions):

Portsmouth Championship form:

Portsmouth form (all competitions):

Team News

The hosts are unable to call upon long-term injury absentee James Collins, who has been out of action since December.

Sonny Bradley is unlikely to face his former club, having missed the first two competitive matches of the season through injury.

Midfielder Yunus Konak will feature in the matchday squad after recently arriving on a season-long loan deal from Brentford.

As for the visitors, Pompey left-back Conor Ogilvie will be out for another six weeks after suffering a setback in his recovery from a knee injury.

Thomas Waddingham is expected to undergo surgery on an ankle injury he sustained in the EFL Cup defeat to West Ham earlier this month, which will keep him out of action for at least 10 weeks.

They are also unable to call upon Josef Bursik, Jacob Farrell, Marlon Pack, Mark Kosznovszky, Franco Umeh and Keshi Anderson.

Lincoln City possible starting lineup:

Wickens; Darikwa, Elerewe, Hamer, Reach; Jefferies, Varfolomeev, McGrandles, House; Street, Draper

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Schmid; Devlin, Poole, Shaughnessy, Swanson; Adams, Shein; Kamara, Segecic, Kavuma-McQueen; Bishop

We say: Lincoln City 2-2 Portsmouth

Portsmouth boast a strong record against Lincoln, but their shaky defensive display against QPR suggests they may struggle to keep the Imps at bay, which is why we think Saturday's fixture could produce an entertaining draw.

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