Can Bristol Rovers end Lincoln City’s hopes for playoff glory?

 

Mid table side Bristol Rovers will be welcomed by on form Lincoln City this weekend. The visitors are currently are looking upwards at The Imps but with one game in hand, they will be desperate to close the gap to five points on their hosts with a positive result at at Sincil Bank.

Rovers form in their last 11 games has been a mixed bag with four wins, one draw and six losses. Bristol Rovers have scored 48 and conceded 52 this season.

Rovers will have one familiar face for Imps fans in striker John Marquis,  who scored on his Lincoln debut against Plymouth Argyle last season in January. He didn’t make much impact last season for The Imps, scoring just five goals in 20 appearances. Marquis may not receive a great reception considering and Lincoln defenders will hope to keep him quiet as the striker will be looking to get his revenge.

Another connection is Rovers manager Mathew Taylor, who had an unsuccessful in 2003. He will know the history of Lincoln City and will be hoping to prove a point that they were wrong not sign him back in the day.

Rovers players to watch are ex-Derby striker  Chris Martin and Anthony Evans  former Paderborn and Everton midfielder] making 16 goal contributions each, Martin has scored most goals of 15 and Anthony Evans provided eight assists and scored eight this season.

Rovers are expected to be without key player Brandon Aguilera but due to his injuries and has only played three times since he joined on loan from Nottingham Forest.

My thoughts are that Rovers are capable of creating chances with Scott Sinclair and Anthony Evans involved. With Lincoln expected  to be favourites, Rovers will need to put on a potential defensive master class to stop Lincoln’s momentum and high tempo. 

Lincoln

Lincoln have been on a great streek of 11 games unbeaten run an will be hoping to further extend this after destroying Barnsley (5-1) and Cambridge (6-0)  in recent fixtures. The Imps are aiming for promotion glory this season and the fans are now expectant that they can reach the Playoffs..

Lincoln has one of the best defensive in League One this season, conceding just 33 goals with leaders Portsmouth only having less [32].

Lincoln players to watch include Jack Moylan because he has scored 4 goals in the last 2 matches and will constantly get game time. It is very tough to choose a player to watch for Lincoln due to their very good form but I’m going to go with Joey Taylor, the Lincoln loanee.

Lincoln don’t have any new injury problems other than striker Ben House and long term absentee Connor McGrandles.

My thoughts are that Lincoln should expect a little tougher challenge than their previous two games.  Bristol Rovers should create one or two chances and will need to change their tempo during the game as visitors. My prediction for the game will be 2-1 to Lincoln with Rovers giving  their best efforts.

 

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