Bristol City vs Lincoln City - prediction, team news, lineups

By Calum Burrowes | 14 Sep 2026 13:41, Last updated: 14 Sep 2026 13:51

Taking on the side he led to the League One title last season, Michael Skubala's Bristol City welcome Championship newcomers Lincoln City to Ashton Gate on Tuesday night.

The Robins saw their four-game unbeaten run come to an end at the hands of Southampton at the weekend, while the Imps are enjoying a four-match unbeaten streak of their own after securing a late win over Preston North End on Saturday afternoon.

After a poor second half of the 2025-26 Championship season, during which former Liverpool and England manager Roy Hodgson oversaw the final seven matches, Bristol City decided that a fresh approach in the dugout was needed and turned to Lincoln City manager Skubala, who had led the Imps to a memorable League One title after collecting more than 100 points.

A busy transfer window also saw further additions from the third tier, with Lorent Tolaj, Dominic Ballard and Sam Tickle all arriving from the same division alongside their new manager.

While the Robins got off to a slow start, suffering an EFL Cup exit at the hands of League Two Walsall before losing their opening league game to Millwall, the Bristol-based side have managed to turn things around and enter their seventh league outing of the season with the chance to move into the top eight.

The defeat to Alex Neil's side in August was followed by a four-match unbeaten run, with a draw away to Birmingham City coming before wins over Portsmouth, Preston North End and Burnley, although that streak came to an end at the weekend.

Travelling away from home for the third match running, the Robins faced promotion hopefuls Southampton and fell to a 4-1 defeat after a Cyle Larin brace and efforts from Kuryu Matsuki and Finn Azaz helped the Saints secure three points in a match where the scoreline suggested a one-sided affair.

However, Bristol City registered 11 more shots than their opponents and came close to scoring on a number of occasions, with two late goals from the hosts ultimately taking the game away from Skubala's side when it was too late to mount a comeback.

As for the visiting Lincoln City, they entered their first campaign in the second tier for 65 years without the man who led them there, but are now becoming accustomed to life in the Championship under the double act of Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw, who both served as assistant coaches under Skubala.

Cohen and Shaw got off to a winning start with a victory over fellow Championship side Derby County in the EFL Cup, before successive defeats to Middlesbrough and Portsmouth in the league left them without a point heading into their third second-tier clash of the season. 

That match came against fellow promoted side Bolton Wanderers, with the Imps coming out on top with a 1-0 win in Greater Manchester.

That victory, which came after a second-round win in the EFL Cup, was followed by draws at home to Blackburn Rovers and Southampton before a second league win of the season against Preston North End left Lincoln City 16th after six games.

While they have since been knocked out of the EFL Cup, suffering a 4-0 defeat against Premier League outfit Bournemouth, the win at Deepdale will be regarded as the more important result with Championship survival remaining the priority.

The win against Paul Heckingbottom's side, who has since been sacked, came late on, with Freddie Draper scoring in the 81st minute to give the Imps another important three points and keep their unbeaten run alive.

This will be the first league meeting between Bristol City and Lincoln City since April 1986, with the last three league clashes between the pair ending 1-1. 

Bristol City appear to have come away from the South Coast without any additional injury concerns but may be tempted to make changes following a heavy defeat.

The only concern remains Irish defender Luke McNally, who has been out with a long-term issue since January 2025.

Crystal Palace loanee Rio Cardines currently leads the way for assists in the Championship with five in six games, and he is expected to keep his spot at full-back on Tuesday night.

As for Lincoln City, they will be forced into a change after suffering an injury in their 1-0 win over Bolton on Saturday.

Daniel Oyegoke was taken off with just 20 minutes remaining and is unlikely to make the trip to Bristol, with Dom Jefferies expected to come in.

Oyegoke will join Tom Hamer, Tendayi Darikwa and Tottenham loanee Mason Melia in the treatment room.

Tickle; Cardines, Dickie, Eissat, Pring; Williams, Knight; Hirakawa, Ballard, Twine; Tolaj

Wickens; Elerewe, Bradley, Coubis; Jefferies, Bayliss, McGrandles, Reach; Hackett, Street, House

Both sides enter this one in good form, which makes this a difficult match to call.

While Bristol City did lose at the weekend, the defeat came against a side expected to compete for the automatic promotion places come the end of the season, and we do not expect the Robins to lose again on Tuesday.

We see the two teams playing out a hard-fought 1-1 draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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