Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson believes his opposite number at Lincoln, Michael Appleton, will have put his own stamp on the side after taking over a couple of weeks ago.
As he told his official club Twitter feed, Lincoln might not be a local rival in the traditional sense, but there’s plenty for fans of both clubs to get worked up about this weekend.
There is history between the two, with lots of players switching between the two clubs in the last decade or so, adding some real spice to the fixture. That made it one of the games Ferguson anticipated the most when the fixtures were released.
“When the fixtures came out, one of the first games I looked for was Lincoln at home,” he said. “It might not be classed as a derby in the Northampton/Cambridge sense, but it is not far up the road and I am sure there will be a good crowd.
“Michael Appleton will put his own stamp on things in terms of the way they play. They have some good technical players and they will be in good spirits after their win over Sunderland at the weekend. It is a game I am looking forward too.”
Posh are currently the leading scorers in the EFL, with Ivan Toney and Mo Eisa finding their feet quickly. The boss is hoping to keep up the good form and make London Road a place to fear.
“Our home form has generally been good, we have won the last four in all competitions and hopefully we can extend that run. Over the last few years, the home form has been a bit of an Achilles heel. Good home form is important.”
Lincoln come into the game on the back of a fine win against Sunderland but won just one of their eleven fixtures prior to that.
Our View
This is a tasty looking game on the weekend calendar. The two clubs haven’t met in league action since the 2007/08 season, where Posh won the corresponding fixture 4-0.
Lincoln did knock their rivals out of the EFL Trophy in 2017/18, on route to winning the competition. Several players on the Imps squad are former Posh stars too, making this a real exciting prospect.
In truth, Posh should win by a couple of goals. they’re a real promotion challenger this season, while recent upheaval at Lincoln means their current position of 12th should be their level through the season.
