Promotion race with Cardiff City pushing Lincoln City to think Championship | OneFootball

This weekend brings a clash which will likely decide the direction of the Sky Bet League One title race.

This weekend brings a clash which will likely decide the direction of the Sky Bet League One title race.

Lincoln City, under the management of the ever-impressive Michael Skubala, sit on 71 points with 12 games left to be played in the campaign. The only team above them are Cardiff City, who are just a single point ahead of the Imps in their search for an immediate return to the second tier of English football.

While Skubala has got his squad ticking, avoiding defeat since late November, Lincoln are making moves off the pitch that show they are ready for life in the Championship.

Michael Skubala's Lincoln City are Championship ready

The Imps have announced plans to boost the charming LNER Stadium too, adding extra rows of seating in place of the current executive boxes to increase the ground’s official capacity.

Fan experience has long been a keen interest of the higher-ups at City, with two big screens in a revamped fan village and a screen inside the ground to be added over the summer too. It will make Sincil Bank, which has been the club’s home since 1895, Championship ready.

New seats in some of the existing stands and a bettering of the other facilities in and around the ground all come as part of the works. They are scheduled to be completed before the start of the new campaign, with that perhaps being Lincoln’s first in the second tier since the 1960s.

Jason Futers, the chief growth and innovation officer at the club, called the move "a really exciting step forward" in a BBC article. He added: "It's all about fan engagement, but also increases corporate and commercial opportunities for the club."

While matters on the pitch are understandably the focus for the vast majority of a club's supporters, a club moving in the right direction behind the scenes is important all the same. It presents a positive sign of what might be to come for the Imps.

There is plenty to shout about in the recruitment department too. Experienced summer additions, such as defensive duo Sonny Bradley and Adam Reach, have seen the Imps fly up the division. From a mid-table finish last term, they stand eight wins away from confirmed promotion.

Even if Bolton Wanderers win all of their remaining games, eight victories from Lincoln’s last 12 outings will secure progression into the Championship. For their part, Cardiff need seven wins and two draws.

Lincoln are catching up the high-flying Bluebirds

While Cardiff came into League One with a majority-Championship squad, big budget by third tier standards, and hefty expectations, they are not running away with the league like Wrexham and Birmingham City have done over recent seasons.

Cardiff have been neck and neck with Lincoln for much of the campaign, but have remained just in front of the plucky underdog Imps. Losing just once in their last 14 games, Brian Barry-Murphy has crafted a youthful winning machine in his debut season in Wales.

Yousef Salech has led the line with 12 league goals, but plenty more have chipped in with goals. A further eight players have more than four strikes to their name, with Lincoln's goal-tally similarly shared around the group.

Cardiff City face the Imps in a huge title clash

The scene is set for one of the biggest games in recent League One memory. With both Cardiff and Lincoln seemingly not about to slip up, their meeting in the Welsh capital is a vital one.

Skubala’s side won the reverse fixture, at Sincil Bank, in December. Bradley netted the winner after an Alex Robertson own-goal and Perry Ng equaliser.

Although, with stellar home form for both teams, there is little to separate them heading into kick-off. Close to 3,000 will make the long trip to Cardiff, while the Bluebirds will be backed by their own hefty support in the other three sides of the Wales national stadium.

In what could be a title decider, Lincoln may well prove once again that they are ready for life in the Championship at the very least on the pitch.

But, win, loss, or draw, the Imps are well on their way to promotion into the second-tier for the first time in decades, built just as much off the pitch as on it.