Lincoln City take on under pressure Nigel Adkins and his Charlton Athletic side at the LNER Stadium

Lincoln City will be looking to improve their home form at the LNER Stadium following a stuttering start to the season.

It’s been far from plain sailing for Michael Appleton due to the sheer amount of injuries but the Imps boss will try to manage the problem and build on a highly successful last season.

With the Imps sat in the lower half of the table, they are still yet to win at home in the league since the opening day of the season against Fleetwood Town.

Scoring goals has been an issue from centre forward positions, and with Tom Hopper both struggling for goals and now injured until the New Year, the responsibility has fallen on young loanee Dan Nlundulu to hit the goal trail. 

In the home form table, the Imps sit in 21st position and it is an area that Appleton will need to address in the run-up to Christmas if Lincoln are to build momentum in going one better than last season. 

Averaging home attendances just shy of 9,000, those are excellent numbers for League One considering Lincoln have a capacity of just over 10,000. Whilst commercially that is positive news for the club, the increase in numbers of supporters coming through the turnstiles carries the weight of expectation with the Imps still yet to find their groove at home.

There are frustrations inevitably creeping particularly with injuries as both Regan Poole and Liam Bridcutt were the latest players not to make a full 90 minutes.

The disruption is certainly adding to the tension as Lincoln try to find their higher gears consistently but Michael Appleton acknowledged the pivotal influence of the home crowd as they twice came from behind against Plymouth Argyle to salvage a 2-2 draw before the international break.

“Against Plymouth, a lot of things transpired against us, but we were able to put in a spirited performance, especially in the second half.

“The crowd recognised that and got behind the players. We need that to continue and I’m sure it will.”

Away from home, the Imps are fairing far much better in terms of results, sitting seventh in the away form league table, and similarly to last season, Appleton’s counter-attacking game is seemingly better suited to being on the road.

Positives in recent weeks have been the form of loanee goalkeeper Josh Griffiths who has put some early season jitters behind him with some impressive displays. Manchester City loanee Lewis Fiorini is also endearing himself to supporters with his technical ability on the ball which has seen him contribute three league goals from midfield.

Anthony Scully has thrived under the responsibility of leading the Lincoln forward charge but over-reliance on him to produce the goods is a long-term concern.

With players returning from injury across the pitch, it is difficult to judge Lincoln’s start to the season, but with the backing of the home crowd, more positive results at home will relieve any building pressure.

One man that will empathise with Appleton’s injury situation at Lincoln will be in the opposite dugout on Saturday. Charlton Athletic boss Nigel Adkins has become under increasing pressure with the Addicks sitting in the relegation places. 

As one of the early promotion favourites without a ball being kicked, things really haven’t gone to plan for Adkins which has seen supporters calling for him to be sacked after taking over from favourite Lee Bowyer.

Having lost Jake Forster-Caskey and Ryan Inniss to long-term injuries, the Addicks will be in a much healthier position personnel-wise as they look to improve on an important win at Fleetwood before the international break to kickstart their season.

Adkins gave his thoughts on where he thinks his side are in term of preparations and how happy he is with the progress.

“Our players have all trained well. We’re in a real good place regarding that because I’ve highlighted that we brought players in after the season started and we’ve needed to get players up to a level where they can – without risk of injury – play 90 minutes of football Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday.

“We’re in a far better position than what we were. I’m really pleased with that.”

With Lincoln struggling for home results, Adkins may well be prepared to sit in and frustrate the home side that has found it more difficult against stubborn defences at home.

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