National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Lincoln City or Accrington Stanley that keep their silverware dream alive.
It's no vacation for neither Lincoln nor Accrington Stanley as both were in action only a few days ago. Expect some tired legs on the pitch and/or possibly some changes to the lineups.
Lincoln City form and stats
Lincoln City have not come this way in the EFL Trophy without some hard work on the way, more precisely defeating Shrewsbury Town, Manchester City U21, Mansfield Town and Scunthorpe United. Last season, Lincoln's EFL Trophy journey ended in the group stage.6-1-4 (win-draw-lost) are the League One numbers at home for Lincoln City so far this season. 2W-2D-0L is the hard facts regardless of venue in the EFL Trophy for Lincoln City.
Before that match, a League One win away at AFC Wimbledon.
A painful moment in the game against Peterborough United was the missed penalty kick from Jorge Grant in the 68th minute. A goal there would obviously have changed the match and probably the outcome.
There's a new game coming up fairly quickly for Lincoln City as they are travelling to their away game against Shrewsbury Town in the League One. That match is four days after this one.
The Lincoln City fans have had their share of opportunities to cheer home goals this season, having seen 17 goals in 11 league matches. On the other hand, Lincoln have conceded 13 goals. There's been improvement defensively lately, as only -1 of these goals has been conceded in their last 3 home matches.
Accrington Stanley form and stats
The traveling awayteam has defeated Blackpool, Leeds United U21, Manchester United U21 and Barrow in order to reach 3rd Round of EFL Trophy. Last season their EFL Trophy adventure ended in the quarter-finals.5-1-3 is the win-draw-loss statistic for Accrington Stanley in their League One matches away. When we have look at the EFL Trophy statistics, we find 3W-1D-0L. This is both home and away. Accrington love their trips these days, as their two previous away games have resulted in victories.
277 minutes! That's how long the Accrington goalkeeper Nathan Baxter and his defense have shut out their league opponents.
Preceding that match was the 0-0 draw at home vs Blackpool.
Goalkeeper Nathan Baxter was absolutely vital in the Accrington Stanley victory against Charlton Athletic, making eight saves.
The visitors are returning home after this fixture, hosting Gillingham in just four days.
Accrington are not goal shy away from home in the league, finding the net 16 times in 9 away games so far. Accrington Stanley have conceded 11 goals in these away matches. There's been improvement defensively lately, as only -1 of these goals has been conceded in their last 3 away matches.
Head 2 Head
As for the last ten games between these two teams, there's four Lincoln City victories, three draws and three Accrington Stanley wins. Over/under statistics; five of these games ended with three goals or more, five matches with two goals or less.Top Goalscorers
  J. Grant 7 goals |  D. Charles 6 goals |  T. Hopper 5 goals |
Lincoln City missing players
Accrington Stanley missing players
| Lincoln City | Accrington Stanley | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 13 | Played | P | 13 | 25 | ||
| 14 | 6 | Won | W | 6 | 13 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Drew | D | 3 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 5 | Lost | L | 4 | 6 | ||
| 44 | 24 | Scored | S | 19 | 40 | ||
| 31 | 23 | Conceded | C | 14 | 25 | ||
| 92% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 92% | 88% | ||
| 72% | 85% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 77% | 72% | ||
| 48% | 54% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 46% | 48% | ||
| 36% | 38% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 15% | 20% | ||
| 20% | 23% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 8% | 16% | ||
| 48% | 62% | BTTS | BTTS | 46% | 48% | ||
| 36% | 23% | Clean Sheets | C S | 46% | 48% | ||
| 24% | 15% | Failed to Score | F T | 15% | 16% | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 0 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 2.2 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1.3 | 1.2 | ||
| 1 | 1 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 3 | ||
| 13 | 12.7 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 13.8 | 13.5 | ||
| 3 | 3.3 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 5.3 | 4.3 | ||
| 59% | 56% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 28% | 32% | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Lincoln City | 21 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 18 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 42 |
| 2 | Hull City | 19 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 31 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 37 |
| 3 | Portsmouth | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 32 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 35 |
| 4 | Doncaster Rovers | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 33 |
| 5 | Peterborough United | 19 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 30 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 33 |
| 6 | Accrington Stanley | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 33 |
| 7 | Charlton Athletic | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 24 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 5 | 32 |
| 8 | Ipswich Town | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 23 | 19 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 32 |
| 9 | Crewe Alexandra | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 25 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 30 |
| 10 | Fleetwood Town | 20 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 7 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 29 |
| 11 | Sunderland | 18 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 29 |
| 12 | Oxford United | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 30 | 27 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 17 | 3 | 28 |
| 13 | Blackpool | 20 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 20 | 23 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 13 | -3 | 27 |
| 14 | Gillingham | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 23 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 13 | -3 | 26 |
| 15 | Plymouth Argyle | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 37 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 21 | -9 | 26 |
| 16 | Milton Keynes Dons | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 26 | 25 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 1 | 25 |
| 17 | Shrewsbury Town | 20 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 21 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 12 | -4 | 24 |
| 18 | Bristol Rovers | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 27 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 12 | -7 | 22 |
| 19 | Northampton Town | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 36 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 19 | -17 | 22 |
| 20 | AFC Wimbledon | 20 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 25 | 33 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 15 | -8 | 21 |
| 21 | Rochdale | 18 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 16 | 15 | -7 | 19 |
| 22 | Wigan Athletic | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 21 | 35 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 19 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 16 | -14 | 19 |
| 23 | Swindon Town | 20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 25 | 41 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 12 | 23 | -16 | 17 |
| 24 | Burton Albion | 22 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 28 | 50 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 27 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 23 | -22 | 13 |
- Lincoln City FC
- Lincolnshire Live - (local newspaper)
- Accrington Stanley
- Lancashire Telegraph - (local newspaper)