Lincoln host Portsmouth in a second-round Championship fixture with both sides seeking their first points after opening defeats. The Imps were comprehensively outshot away from home, while Pompey created plenty themselves but were undone defensively at Fratton Park. Historically,…
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Sign inLincoln City play their first home fixture in the Championship in 66 years when they welcome Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon, with both sides hunting a first point of the campaign after opening-day defeats. The Imps were edged out 2-1 at Middlesbrough, while Pompey slipped 3-1 at home to QPR in a round of results that leaves each club in the early relegation places.
John Mousinho’s squad has been stretched to breaking point. Connor Ogilvie recently underwent a second knee operation and will miss at least six weeks, while forward Thomas Waddingham is facing surgery on an ankle problem suffered against West Ham in pre-season. That pair join a treatment room already occupied by Keshi Anderson (torn quad, out until October), Jacob Farrell (groin) and winger Franco Umeh (hamstring). Captain Marlon Pack and Harvey Blair remain significant doubts, leaving Mousinho unable to call on as many as ten senior players. The manager has admitted no new signings will arrive before Saturday, so a young bench will travel to face the newly promoted hosts.
Joint-managers Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen are in a brighter mood. Conor McGrandles shook off an early knock at the Riverside, Tom Bayliss returned to the squad last weekend, and only long-term casualties Sonny Bradley (knee) and James Collins (rehabilitation) are unavailable. Cohen described his squad as being “in a really good place” and hinted that further additions could yet arrive before the deadline. The Imps have never lost their opening two league games since returning to the EFL in 2017-18, a record that will encourage a group still adjusting to second-tier demands.
James Collins has scored more league goals against Portsmouth than any other club – eight of his nine have arrived in home games, including a four-goal haul for Swindon in 2013. With Sonny Bradley unavailable and Pompey potentially missing Pack’s shielding presence, Lincoln will look to release Collins into the spaces behind a backline that shipped three goals to QPR. How much service the striker receives may decide whether the Imps can celebrate their second-tier homecoming with a result.
Chris Cohen believes his side is primed: “Obviously, a couple are not too far away as well, so we’re in a really good place.” Mousinho, meanwhile, is focused on squad management ahead of the 1 September deadline: “When the dust settles at the back end of the window, I think we’ll be fine. We’ve still got quite a while to go.” Both coaches acknowledge this is a fixture that could set the tone for the weeks ahead.
Portsmouth have lost only one of the last 14 league meetings between these sides since 1981, winning nine, and the pair have not met at this level since December 1960 – a series Pompey led three wins to one. That historical weight, coupled with Lincoln’s 66-year wait for second-tier football at home, should give the afternoon a charged atmosphere. Yet with Mousinho’s squad so thinly stretched, those trends face their stiffest test yet.
The transfer window shuts on 1 September, so both managers know their teams could look very different by the time the next league fixture arrives. For now, the immediate task is finding a foothold in the Championship table.
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