Oxford United will travel to Sincil Bank for a League One meeting with Lincoln City on Saturday, and the visitors enter the contest in a playoff place.
At the other end of the table, Lincoln occupy a position in the relegation zone after failing to win in their last eight games in all competitions.
Match preview
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After 15 league games, Lincoln sat in 12th place, but a return of three points from their last seven league matches has left the Imps languishing in 21st position.
On Saturday, Michael Appleton's side will return to action for the first time since Boxing Day due to a couple of coronavirus-related postponements.
The Lincoln boss will hope that the new year brings about a change of fortunes, with his side looking for their first league win since a 2-1 away victory over Wigan Athletic on October 26.
Having failed to score in nine of their league games this season, Lincoln need to improve in the final third if they are to avoid the drop.
Appleton will be fully aware that the Imps also need to pick up more points on home turf after winning just two home league games this season.
Meanwhile, Appleton's former side will be hoping to pile more misery upon Lincoln, as Oxford look to extend their unbeaten away league run to seven matches.
The U's head into the contest in fifth place, and with a six-point gap separating themselves and the top two, Oxford may still harbour hopes of joining the race for automatic promotion.
Their superb recent run of form suggests that Karl Robinson's side are worthy promotion contenders, with the U's suffering just one defeat in their previous 12 league games.
In their last outing, Robinson's men looked to be heading towards a 1-0 defeat at home to Cheltenham Town after Callum Wright had given the Robins the lead, but Oxford salvaged a point courtesy of Mark Sykes's 82nd-minute equaliser.
Oxford will now turn their attention to Saturday's away trip, and the visitors will be confident of troubling the scorers after failing to score in only two of their 10 league away games.
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Team News
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Lincoln have seen Dan Nlundulu and Archie Mair leave the club this week after the pair were recalled from their loan spells by their respective parent clubs.
Although, the Imps did bring in Morgan Whittaker on a loan deal from Swansea City, and the 20-year-old is set to make his debut on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Anthony Scully returned from injury to feature as a substitute last time out, and the 22-year-old could come into the starting lineup for this game.
As for the visitors, they are expected to welcome James Henry back into the squad following a calf problem, although the midfielder may have to settle for a place on the bench.
Although Nathan Holland, Jamie Hanson and Joel Cooper will miss the game due to injury issues, while coronavirus rules Dan Agyei out of Saturday's encounter.
Robinson could bring Gavin Whyte into the starting lineup, with Marcus McGuane likely to drop down to the bench.
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Griffiths; Eyoma, Poole, Montsma, Bramall; Bishop, Bridcutt, McGrandles; Whittaker, Scully, Maguire
Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Eastwood; Long, Moore, Thorniley, Seddon; Brannagan, Kane, Sykes; Whyte, Williams, Taylor
We say: Lincoln City 1-2 Oxford United
Oxford enter the contest as one of the most in-form sides in the league, and we think that they will take advantage of a Lincoln side low on confidence to claim a narrow victory.
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 Oxford United win with a probability of 42.02%. A win for Lincoln City had a probability of 31.98% and a draw had a probability of 26%.
The most likely scoreline for a Oxford United win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.22%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.81%) and 0-2 (7.29%). The likeliest Lincoln City win was 1-0 (8.67%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.36%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 5.2% likelihood.
