Lincoln City vs Shrewsbury Predictions

Lincoln play host to Shrewsbury on Friday night, as they go in search of a win that would leave them just a point outside of the top six. Much the same can be said for the Shrews, who go to Sincil Bank with hopes of leapfrogging their hosts.

Since Danny Cowley, who played a huge part in the club moving from the National League to League 1, resigned back in early September, Lincoln have struggled, winning just one out of six league matches. Michael Appleton, who is no stranger to the third division having been in charge at Oxford between 2014 and 2017, took charge just under a month ago, though is yet to get the Imps firing as they were at the start of the campaign, when they won their first four matches in all competitions.

Of the three league games that Appleton has overseen, Lincoln have won one and lost two. Not great, but not bad, especially as they beat top-half opposition in Sunderland. Under their new boss, the Imps have been so-so in terms of performances as the following figures show. In their last three, Lincoln have shipped four goals, scored three, they’ve registered seven shots on target and have conceded eight. They’ve also created 3.02 expected goals for during that time and have conceded 2.84.

While Lincoln haven’t exactly had the best time of it over the last month or so, Shrewsbury come into this game off the back of what has a been a steady period. The Shrews have lost just one of their last five League 1 matches, which has allowed them to go just four points outside of play-off spots.

A quick glance at the league table wouldn’t necessarily leave anyone in fear of Friday’s visitors, though Sam Ricketts’ men are no easy team to face. Shrewsbury have lost just three of their 11 matches this term. They don’t score many goals, but they also don’t concede a great deal, shipping a respectable average of 1.18. They’ve kept five clean sheets and have conceded more than once in just four out of 11. They’ve also surrendered an average of 1.11 expected goals, which tells us that they’re capable of restricting teams. Lincoln will have to improve on their recent attacking efforts if they’re to enjoy a fruitful night in front of goal on Friday, that’s for sure.

In the betting, ‘Both Teams to Score – NO’ stands out as a viable option. Lincoln continue to go through a transitional period, while their recent attacking efforts don’t exactly suggest that they’ll run riot against a Shrewsbury side that gives little away. Add in the fact that the visitors, who’ve only scored in three out of six on the road this term, are somewhat tame in the final third and the price available on the selection starts to look on the large side.

‘Correct Score’ backers should consider a narrow win for the visitors, who despite not being the most offensive side in the league, will look to contain a Lincoln attack that has often misfired in recent times before capitalising at the other end, which is exactly what they did when recently beating Tranmere by a goal to nil on the road. In all honesty, it’s not easy to fancy either side to do well offensively in this match, but all things considered, a low-scoring away win looks slightly more likely than the current odds suggest, so punters looking to nail the score-line can grab themselves a slice of value by siding with the Shrews to win by a goal to nil.