Preview: Lincoln City vs. Charlton Athletic - prediction, team news, lineups

Lincoln City and Charlton Athletic will both look to bounce back from disappointing starts to the League One season on Saturday, when they square off at Sincil Bank.

The hosts currently occupy 17th place, while their visitors are three points worse off in 21st spot, having picked up their second league win of the season last time out.

Match preview

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After a strong campaign resulted in playoff heartbreak for Lincoln City last season, they will have headed into the new term with the hopes of again pushing to reach the second tier, but they have not enjoyed a fast start.

The Imps have won just three of their opening 11 outings, sitting on an underwhelming tally of 12 points as a result.

After a positive run including a draw with Rotherham United and wins over Cambridge United and Burton Albion, they now head into Saturday's game in a run of three games without a win in all competitions.

Following a disappointing 2-0 away defeat to Morecambe, the Imps showed far more character to hold league leaders Plymouth Argyle to a 2-2 draw, with Anthony Scully snatching a point in the 90th minute from the penalty spot.

However, their recent EFL Cup meeting with Sunderland resulted in a 2-1 defeat to a makeshift squad on home turf, and they will now be desperate to bounce back and climb the league table with a winning run.

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They meet a Charlton side who will be equally keen to improve their current position, after making progress with a win at the beginning of October.

Having headed into the new season with the hopes of earning a playoff place, Charlton have had to endure a poor start, having immediately sunk to the bottom end of the division.

Nigel Adkins's men only managed to collect one win from their opening 10 games - a 2-0 defeat of Crewe Alexandra in August - and sat in the bottom four of the table as a result.

They managed to post a crucial win in the final league game before the recent international break though, as goals from Jonathan Leko and Jayden Stockley saw them leave Fleetwood with a 2-1 victory.

Having followed that up with a 4-1 thrashing of Southampton Under-21s in the EFL Cup, the Addicks will now hope to kick into gear and begin a climb away from the drop zone with a win on Saturday to move level on points with their opponents.

Team News

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Anthony Scully will continue to play a key role in the Lincoln front line after hitting his seventh league goal of the season to salvage a point against Plymouth.

Teddy Bishop will hope to keep his place on the opposite flank, although experienced attacker Chris Maguire will also be pushing to break into the starting XI.

Liam Bridcutt offers plenty of quality and experience, and the former Leeds United man will continue to handle business in the centre.

Despite their poor start, Adkins has a strong squad at his disposal, and Jonathan Leko and Jayden Stockley should both feature in attack after getting on the scoresheet in the win over Fleetwood.

Experienced midfielder Harry Arter will continue to operate in the centre, while former Crewe Alexandra star Charlie Kirk offers quality in the wide areas.

Lincoln City possible starting lineup:

Griffiths; Poole, Montsma, Eyoma, Bramall; Sorensen, Bridcutt, Fiorini; Scully, Nlundulu, Maguire

Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:

MacGillivray; Gunter, Lavelle, Famewo, Souare; Leko, Arter, Gilbey, Kirk; Stockley, Lee

We say: Lincoln City 1-2 Charlton Athletic

With both sides struggling for consistency so far, this could be a cagey encounter as they battle to kickstart their campaigns, and we see the visitors narrowly coming out on top.

Despite their difficult start, the Addicks undoubtedly have plenty of quality in their ranks, and we think they are bound to get going sooner rather than later.