Tom Shaw and Chris Cohen reunite with former Imps head coach Michael Skubala on Tuesday night as Lincoln City travel to Ashton Gate to face his Bristol City side, writes Kyle Fox.
Last season, Michael Skubala led the Imps to the League One title alongside assistant head coaches Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw. Since then, Skubala moved on to Bristol City to become their manager during the summer after compensation was agreed between the two clubs. Less than an hour after that move was confirmed, Lincoln City announced that Cohen and Shaw would replace him as joint head coaches.
City claimed their second victory of the season away at Preston North End on Saturday, thanks to an 81st-minute winner from Freddie Draper as the game ended 1-0. The victory saw them climb to 16th in the table, while Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom was relieved of his duties the following day.
The Robins finished last season in 12th position on 62 points, scoring 59 goals and conceding 59. They won 17 matches, drew 11 and lost 18. The club ended the season with Roy Hodgson at the helm after he was appointed at the end of March following the sacking of Gerhard Struber. It was Hodgson’s second spell in charge of the club, having previously managed Bristol City in 1982 during his second-ever managerial role.
Bristol City started last season strongly under Struber, losing just twice in their opening 12 league matches, with six wins and four draws making up the remainder of their record during that spell. That was followed by a much more difficult period, as they won just two of their next nine games, losing five and drawing two.
The turn of the new year saw the Robins continue to struggle for form. Between January 1 and February 24, they won four league games, drawing twice and suffering four defeats. Then, from February 27 until March 21, their worst spell of the season ensued as they went six games without a victory. That run included five defeats, four of which came consecutively, and one draw. Those results all but ended their hopes of securing a play-off place.
Scott Twine finished last season as Bristol City’s leading scorer and assist provider in the Championship, registering 11 goals and seven assists. They reached the fourth round of the FA Cup before being knocked out by Port Vale, while they were eliminated from the EFL Cup by Fulham in the second round.
The Robins were extremely active during this summer’s transfer window, bringing in 11 new players. Goalkeeper Brad Collins, winger Jed Wallace and striker Elijah Adebayo all joined on free transfers after their contracts expired at their respective clubs. Brian De Keersmaecker arrived on loan from Oxford, while young full-back Rio Cardines joined from Crystal Palace. Cardines has already registered five assists in just six Championship appearances.
In terms of permanent acquisitions, they signed central midfielder Gibson Yah from FC Volendam, goalkeeper Sam Tickle from Wigan Athletic and midfielder Sam Greenwood from Polish top-flight side Pogon Szczecin. The most notable arrivals in terms of both profile and transfer fee have been Romania international defender Lisav Naif Eissat from Maccabi Haifa and strikers Dom Ballard and Lorent Tolaj from Leyton Orient and Plymouth Argyle respectively.
Sam Morsy, Joe Lumley, Harry Cornick and Mark Sykes all left the club on free transfers after their contracts expired. Ross McCrorie was sold to Rangers, while forward Sinclair Armstrong departed for Goztepe in the Turkish top flight. Emil Riis Jakobsen left to join Leicester City, while their biggest sale was midfielder Max Bird to Championship rivals Birmingham City.
Bristol City Form
Michael Skubala’s side started this season in the worst possible way, suffering consecutive home defeats in their opening two games.
The first came in the form of a cup upset, as League Two side Walsall ground out a 1-0 victory at Ashton Gate thanks to an Aaron Pressley goal. This was despite Bristol City amassing 2.76 xG from 32 shots, nine of which were on target, compared with Walsall’s eight shots, five of which were on target.
That result was followed by another home defeat, this time in their opening Championship fixture, as they were beaten 2-0 by Millwall. A Josh Coburn brace secured all three points for the visitors. The result was fully deserved, with Millwall creating an xG of 3.40 from 24 shots, three of which were on target.
Their third game brought a more positive result as they drew 2-2 away at Birmingham City. The Robins took the lead twice during the game, with the second goal coming courtesy of an unbelievable backheel volley from Dom Ballard, which is sure to be a contender for goal of the season. They were just a couple of minutes away from securing the victory before Demarai Gray scored a 95th-minute penalty to snatch a draw for his side.
Since then, Bristol City have won three games in a row, starting with a 2-1 home victory over Portsmouth, followed by a 3-1 win away at Preston North End. The most impressive result and performance came in the third game of that winning streak, as they won 2-1 away at Burnley. After falling behind early in the second half, goals in the 82nd and 91st minutes were enough to turn the game around. They managed 16 shots, with four on target, during the match.
In their latest outing, Skubala’s team were beaten 4-1 away at Southampton despite having the better of several key statistics. Bristol City generated an xG of 2.24 compared with Southampton’s 1.71, while they also had more shots (21 to 10) and more shots on target (six to five).
These results currently leave Bristol City sitting 11th in the table with three wins, one draw and two defeats, having scored 10 goals and conceded 11.
Previous Meetings
There have been 37 competitive meetings between Bristol City and Lincoln City throughout history. Tuesday night’s game will be the first league clash between the two sides in just over 40 years. The Robins have the better record in those encounters, with 19 wins, eight draws and 10 victories for Lincoln.
The most recent meeting between the two sides came in November 2022, when Lincoln ran out 3-1 winners away at Ashton Gate thanks to goals from Matty Virtue, Ben House and Paudie O’Connor in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
Bristol City’s last league victory over Lincoln came at home in December 1984, when they won 2-1. Lincoln’s last league victory over the Robins came in March 1982, when they won 1-0 away from home.
Bristol City vs Lincoln City Referee
The referee for this fixture is the highly experienced Tim Robinson, who has officiated 411 matches in total. He averages 3.62 yellow cards per game, which is around the average for professional referees. He has awarded 96 penalties and issued 28 straight red cards, as well as 34 second yellow cards.
Robinson has taken charge of three Championship games so far this season, averaging three yellow cards and 25 fouls per match.
