With the season's second international break underway this weekend, the teams that are playing will be looking to take advantage and climb the table whilst they have the chance.
And two EFL League One sides that will be aiming to finish the weekend in the play-off places, face off on Saturday. Promotion chasers Peterborough United and Lincoln City are separated by just 51 miles and two league points, so expect a tight game.
Story behind the game
Peterborough manager Darren Ferguson will be hoping his attacking trio of Mo Eisa, Ivan Toney and Marcus Maddison can continue their impressive goal-scoring form. He will also be looking to return to winning ways, after a last minute Adebayo Akinfenwa penalty saw them draw 3-3 with high-flying Wycombe Wanderers. Meanwhile, Lincoln boss Michael Appleton will want to keep up the momentum from his sides brilliant performance against promotion favourites Sunderland. The 2-0 victory ended a run of seven games without a win in all competitions for the Imps.
The last time these two were in the same league was the 2007/08 season, in which Peterborough took 4 points from their opponents on their way to promotion from EFL League Two as runners-up. This included a comfortable 4-0 win at London Road, so they will be hoping they can have a performance like that once more. However, this tie has occurred more recently than that, as in January 2018, Lincoln won 4-2 at Sincil Bank in the quarter-finals of the EFL Trophy, where they ultimately went on to win the competition at Wembley.
Peterborough go into the game as favourites, with a win likely to boost their automatic promotion hopes. Whilst Lincoln know if they play like they did last week, then they have every chance of securing back to back wins for the first time in two months.
Team news
Ferguson has the pleasure of being able to work with a virtually fully fit squad ahead of Saturday's game. Defender Nathan Thompson is a possibility to play after doing 'a fair bit of training', as the manager plans to make a late decision on his involvement.
Appleton on the other hand remains without key defender Michael Bostwick, who is still recovering from injury. Lee Frecklington and Ben Coker remain out, but Tom Pett could feature for the first time this season. Meanwhile both Joe Morrell and Aaron Lewis are away on International duty for Wales.
Predicted Line-up
Peterborough United:
(4-1-2-1-2) Pym, Mason, Kent, Beevers, Blake-Tracy, Reed, Knight, Boyd, Maddison, Toney, Eisa
Lincoln City:
(4-2-3-1) Vickers, Eardley, Bolger, Shackell, Toffolo, Connelly, O'Connor, Andrade, Payne, Grant, Walker
Key Clashes
Mo Eisa vs Jason Shackell
Half of Peterborough's deadly front two is summer signing Mo Eisa, who will be looking to take his tally into double figures against the Imps. Eisa had a tough spell at Bristol City, but is back to his best this season. Aiming to keep him at bay will be experienced centre-back Jason Shackell, who has been the stand-in captain for Lincoln this season. The former Derby County defender will be looking to gain back-to-back clean sheers, but will find no tougher test than this.
Marcus Maddison vs Michael O'Connor
The third member of the Posh's attacking trio Marcus Maddison certainly won't go under the radar for Lincoln. The attacking midfielder has contributed directly to 12 goals so far this season, with 6 goals and 6 assists. However, he may struggle to find a way past the Imps' midfield enforcer Michael O'Connor. The Irishman did a stellar job of nullifying Sunderland's attack last weekend, so will be seeking to help his team in claiming another unexpected scalp.
What the managers have said
The Peterborough boss spoke to the club's media about how he is relishing the chance to face Lincoln, who he considers as an important rival. He said:
“Lincoln might not be classed as a local derby in the same way that Northampton or Cambridge is, but I think back to when we last played them and there was certainly plenty of interest.
“When the fixtures came out back in June, Lincoln at home was one of the first games I looked for. We haven't met them in the league for quite a while so it is a game that I am certainly looking forward to.”
In the other camp, Appleton spoke to local journalists, knowing that a lot of the focus will be on stopping their front three. He said:
“It's going to be tough, they are very dangerous. I think there's a lot of League One managers up and down the country who would love that type of artillery.
“But we've got some dangerous players ourselves. So I think the key for us is to try and take that threat away. To nullify the amount of balls that get into those front three.
“They tend to go with a diamond, to try to free Maddison up in behind the two strikers. If they go with anything different, obviously we'll try and deal with it on the day.”