Lincoln City will be looking to end a three-game winless run when they welcome Cheltenham Town to Sincil Bank on Monday.
The visitors, on the other hand, will be aiming to extend their current unbeaten run to four matches.
Match preview
© Reuters
With just three games left to play, Lincoln find themselves in 18th position, although with eight points separating them from safety, their place in League One looks all but secured.
After finishing in the playoffs last season, the current campaign has been slightly underwhelming for a Lincoln side that have won just one of their last seven games.
Their most recent fixture took them to Fratton Park, and the Imps left empty-handed after they came up short in a five-goal thriller.
George Hirst gave Pompey the lead from the spot in the 50th minute following a goalless first half, and Lincoln's task became a tricky one when Michael Jacobs doubled the home side's advantage.
However, Michael Appleton's side fought back valiantly, with Teddy Bishop halving the deficit before Ben House restored parity within a minute of his introduction to the contest, but Lincoln's comeback proved to be in vain as Ronan Curtis netted the winner to condemn the Imps to a 3-2 defeat.
© Reuters
The visitors, meanwhile, have fared well in their return to the third tier this season, with the Robins sitting in 12th place ahead of Monday's contest.
Cheltenham's goal for the rest of the season will be to hold onto 12th position, as they bid to finish in the top half of the League One table.
Although they have won only one of their previous five matches, the Robins will be in high spirits after collecting five points from their last three games.
Michael Duff's side picked up a point following a thrilling 4-4 draw against Accrington Stanley, then edged out Portsmouth courtesy of a 1-0 win before they collected another point on Friday against Gillingham
The Robins came back on two occasions against the Gills with Callum Wright and Kion Etete grabbing a goal apiece to ensure that the encounter ended in a 2-2 draw, and after scoring more goals than any other side in League One since the start of February, Cheltenham will believe that they possess the firepower to obtain a positive result against Lincoln.
- D
- L
- W
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Lincoln are unable to call upon Liam Bridcutt and Chris Maguire, who are ruled out for the rest of the season due to their respective injury issues.
After coming off the bench to score against Pompey, House could be given his first start for the Imps.
Meanwhile, Brooke Norton-Cuffy is expected to feature once again at right-back after coming into the starting line up for Friday's contest.
As for Cheltenham, Ben Williams is missing due to a hamstring injury, which has kept him out of the last five games.
Matty Blair is also set to miss out, while Charlie Colkett could return to the squad following an injury layoff.
Despite the busy schedule, Duff could name an unchanged side for Monday's contest, which would see Alfie May and Etete continue to operate in a front two.
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Wright; Norton-Cuffy, Jackson, Poole, Robson; Bishop, McGrandles, Fiorini; Cullen, Scully, House
Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:
Evans; Long, Pollock, Boyle; Thomas, Sercombe, Bonds, Wright, Hutchinson; Etete, May
We say: Lincoln City 1-1 Cheltenham Town
The last two meetings between the sides have ended all square, and we think that Monday's encounter will also result in the spoils being shared, especially as Cheltenham have drawn more away games than any other team in League One this season.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Lincoln City win with a probability of 44.62%. A win for Cheltenham Town had a probability of 30.96% and a draw had a probability of 24.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Lincoln City win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.17%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.77%) and 2-0 (7.05%). The likeliest Cheltenham Town win was 1-2 (7.42%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.4%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 3.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Lincoln City would win this match.
