Lincoln City v Southampton: free-scoring visitors meet organised hosts | OneFootball

Lincoln City face Southampton in the Championship on Saturday in Lincoln, a test of the hosts' defensive resilience against one of the league's sharpest attacks.

Lincoln City start the weekend 17th and Southampton 18th in the early table. The sides last met in December 2022 when Southampton won 2-1 in the EFL Cup.

Lincoln City have steadied with four points from their past two league games, beating Bolton before drawing 0-0 with Blackburn. Saints arrive unbeaten in three Championship outings after a 5-1 win over Millwall and a 1-1 draw at Birmingham, having also seen off Stoke at home.

Tendayi Darikwa, Thomas Haymer and Ben House are listed as injured for Lincoln City, while Caspar Jander is sidelined for the visitors.

The Saints average 60% possession with 85.42% passing accuracy and have scored 10 times in four league games. Cyle Larin is joint second in the scoring chart with four, while creators Finn Azaz and Léo Scienza have two assists each. Lincoln City play with less of the ball at 34% and own two clean sheets. With 28.57% accuracy from 49 open-play crosses, they could look to supply Isaac Olaofe and Freddie Draper from wide areas.

A win for Lincoln City could lift them away from the bottom end, while the Saints may climb the standings and build on their early attacking output. Defeat for either would leave them hovering near the lower reaches.