Sunderland begin the defence of their EFL Trophy with a trip to LNER Stadium for a Group F clash against Lincoln City. The Black Cats have been one of the form teams in League One this season and will fancy their chances against Lincoln who are looking off colour.
Lincoln City have made a good start to the EFL Trophy, winning their opening two matches back in August. They claimed a 3-2 victory over Manchester United U21 before seeing off Bradford City 3-0 in their second fixture.
In contrast to their form in the EFL Trophy, Lincoln City have found things difficult in League One this season. They have claimed just three wins from their 11 matches and are currently down in 16th on the log.
Michael Appleton's men have also struggled at home in recent weeks and are winless in their last three matches at LNER Stadium. They head into Tuesday’s clash off the back of a 2-2 home draw with Plymouth Argyle with Anthony Scully grabbing a 90th minute equaliser.
Sunderland are the holders of the EFL Trophy after beating Tranmere Rovers in last season’s final. They have their sights set on promotion to the Championship this term but will still be keen to retain their title.
This will be the first appearance for Sunderland in this season’s competition as they travel to Lincoln City off the back of a surprise 4-0 League One defeat to Portsmouth. Despite the result, Lee Johnson's men are still one of the form teams in the league and remain second on the table having won five of their previous six matches.
Sunderland have a good record on the road and are unbeaten in three of their last four away matches. Among their results in that run is a 2-0 victory at League One leaders Wigan in the Carabao Cup.
How the bookies view it
The bookies are split on this one with a win for Lincoln City priced at 31/18 by SBK, who are also offering 20/13 for a Sunderland victory. A draw is set at odds of 11/4 by Vbet.
Head to head
Sunderland have a 4-2 advantage with one draw from seven previous matches against Lincoln City. The Black Cats claimed a 2-1 victory in the last meeting between both teams back in May.
Players to watch
Lincoln City will look to Anthony Scully for goals on Tuesday with the midfielder scoring seven times in League One this season. Fellow midfielders Lewis Florini and Lasse Sorenson have also been among the goals this term and can ensure the hosts get on the score sheet at 4/11 with Vbet.
Ross Stewart will be the one to watch for Sunderland having scored seven times in League One this season. The striker often has support form midfielder Carl Winchester who has three goals this term and both men can combine to ensure the Black Cats find the net at 32/100 with Vbet.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been BTTS in three of the last four matches between Lincoln City and Sunderland and that run could be tipped to continue at 9/10 with Vbet. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 6/5 with BetVictor.
Sunderland have scored in both halves in six of their last eight matches across all competitions and Tuesday’s clash could follow a similar pattern at 3/1 with bet365.
This EFL Trophy match between Lincoln City and Sunderland will be played on Oct 5, 2021 and kick off at 19:00. Check below for our tipsters best Lincoln City vs Sunderland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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