AFC Wimbledon returned to League One after three years in the lower tier but suffered a setback in the opening round. Will we see a better performance against Lincoln, who were flawless in their season opener?
The Dons showed nothing on the pitch against Luton and leaving with a minimal 1-0 loss was the only positive. In 90 minutes, Wimbledon attempted only two shots, zero on target, and finished the match with 0.03xG. And the worrying part is that coach Jackson had his best XI out, apart from Sam Hutchinson, who remains injured.
On the other end, Lincoln managed a flawless 2-0 victory against Reading, despite having minimal ball possession (33%). They converted the few shots on target and played a defensive masterclass to beat one of the preliminary favorites for promotion. But they still have to shift gears if they are to beat Wimbledon away.
How the bookies view it: Fair away advantage
Bookmakers clearly saw Wimbledon's performance in the opening round and once again priced them as underdogs, even on home turf. Lincoln are the betting favourites with 7/5, next to 2/1 for the hosts. You can also opt for the draw at 9/4.
Recent head to head: Lincoln won the last clash at this stadium
Wimbledon and Lincoln have a lot of recent history, especially since the Dons debuted in League One for the first time in 2016. Their last encounter was in 2022 and the Imps crushed them 2-0 away at the old Plough Lane stadium. The overall H2H record shows two wins for each side and two draws, so neither team has an advantage.
Players to watch: Collins can still deliver
Lincoln didn't achieve much on the transfer market, apart from selling their top goalscorer from the previous campaign. And since they didn't sign a replacement, they will have to rely on veteran James Collins to make an impact. He scored 10 goals across 20 League One appearances last season and became an irreplaceable part of the starting XI in the final months. Can he get his first goal of the season against Wimbledon?
Probable line-ups
Wimbledon: Bishop, Johnson, Ogundere, Lewis, Assimwe, Seddon, Smith, Reeves, Kelly, Stevens, Hippolyte
Lincoln: Wickens, Bradley, Jackson, Darikwa, Towler, McGrandles, Street, Bayliss, Moylan, Collins, Hackett-Fairchild
Anything else catch the eye?
Some curious stats from back in the day: only one of the six H2Hs between Wimbledon and Lincoln featured more than two goals. And while this means almost nothing when the last one was over three years ago, we expect a similar outcome in this matchup.
Wimbledon showed nothing in attack against Luton, while Lincoln played incredibly in defence. At the same time, the Imps had a lot of luck in the final third and that luck may not be there this week. We still expect to see some action, influenced by Lincoln's pre-season performances, as all four matches they played had BTTS and over 2.5 goals.
But a goal per team is the most we expect and considering both teams' performances in Round 1, there is a high possibility for a tie.
GambleAware