Northampton vs Lincoln City Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Northampton Town had the season from hell last year. They were relegated to League Two, conceding the most goals in the league at 77, whilst scoring the second-least to ensure a miserable year for fans amidst an ongoing internal crisis that is still very public coming into this season. Under manager Dean Austin however, they can hope for a season of stability and a potential promotion push.

To solve the problems the squad had last season, a series of impressive transfers have been conducted. In particular, the acquisition of former Peterborough Junior Morais is the most important. He scored 11 goals in 51 games for the club in League One before moving down a division, and the hope will be that he can reach even higher figures in League Two. In addition, the signing of Reading youth keeper Lewis Ward and Wolves academy graduate Hakeem Odofin should do well to shore up the defence. However, the most important thing for Northampton is if Morais can link up well with the talent the team has in midfield, such as Matt Crooks, then Northampton will no longer have to worry about goals.

Their pre-season form appears to have been positive. The team have beaten non-league sides Barnet and Brackley Town, as well as a Manchester United XI, which has given the manager Austin a lot of confidence coming into this game. The only concern for the club must be the ongoing internal crisis that is occurring at the club. The local council loaned over £10m to the football club, which has subsequently “gone missing” and a legal investigation is taking place. If the courtroom drama intensifies, it could have an effect on the club’s morale and thus on their league form.

Lincoln City’s 2017-18 season ended in disappointment as the club lost in the play-off semi-final against Exeter. However, the club can take many positives from what was their first season in League Two after promotion from the National League, and they will be hoping for bigger things this coming season under arguably the most talented manager in the league, Danny Cowley.

The club had a fantastic home record last season, losing only three times, but in order to progress this season, they will have to improve an away record which saw them win eight out of 24. In addition, the club had a great defensive record, conceding the fourth lowest goals on average but they will have to up their scoring statistics as well to be right near the top.

Their transfer activity seems to have attempted to rectify these problems. Primarily, striker John Akinde has been purchased from Barnet, a player who scored 57 goals over three seasons for a club that was usually near the bottom of the table, whilst Bruno Andrade has been signed from Boreham Wood, whose 20 goals in the National League got them to the play-off final. In addition, goalkeeper Grant Smith, who was also at Boreham Wood and made the Team of the Year, has added to an already talented squad and they will surely be near the top of table come the end of the season.

However, it hasn’t been the best pre-season form shown from the club. Although the club won their last game against Scunthorpe, they lost their last three before that, not scoring in two of those matches. Although, those three matches were against Championship teams that were expected to beat Lincoln and it should not affect them too much coming into this match.

A “Both Teams to Score” bet reflects the closeness of the teams in quality, with their squads some of the strongest in the league. It also reflects their inability to keep clean sheets from last season. In addition, with Northampton coming into this game in good scoring form, having scored 2 or more in three of their last four matches, as well as Lincoln’s acquisition of Akinde, the game could finish as a high-score draw of 2-2. A bet for Akinde to Score Anytime could also be a winner, especially if he connects with his teammates immediately.