Portsmouth v Lincoln City: team news, predicted XIs, what's been said, referee, key stats and form guides

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of kick off (3pm).

Pompey team news

Pompey boss Danny Cowley hasn’t ruled out the possibility of injured trio Marcus Harness, Michael Jacobs and Louis Thompson featuring against Lincoln.

All three were withdrawn from Tuesday night’s triumph over Rotherham with knee, hamstring and hand issues retrospectively.

The Blues boss admitted on Thursday that all three will face late tests to determine their fitness, but claimed if the game had been 24 hours earlier then the trio would not have been able to feature.

Cowley is already without Denver Hume, who is sidelined with back problems, as well as Reeco Hackett (knee) and Kieron Freeman (ankle) who will miss the rest of the season.

Predicted XI: Gavin Bazunu, Hayden Carter, Sean Raggett, Clark Robertson, Mahlon Romeo, Joe Morrell, Shaun Williams, Connor Ogilvie, Ronan Curtis, Aiden O'Brien, George Hirst. Subs: Ollie Webber, Liam Vincent, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Louis Thompson, Marcus Harness, Michael Jacobs, Tyler Walker.

Lincoln City team news

Michael Appleton revealed he has one or two concerning doubts for the trip to Fratton Park.

The former Pompey boss also admitted midfielder Liam Bridcutt will be on the sidelines for the remainder of the season.

The 32-year-old made a long-awaited return to the Imps side against Charlton at the start of the month but sustained a quad injury in the victory at the Valley, bringing his campaign to a premature conclusion.

The Reds will also be without Dutch defender Lewis Montsma (ligament damage) after his season came to an end in January.

John Marquis is set to face his old club for the first time since his Fratton Park departure in January, while Chris Maguire is another man set to face his former side.

Predicted XI: Josh Wright, Regan Poole, Adam Jackson, Joe Walsh, Jamie Robson, Teddy Bishop, Conor McGrandles, Lewis Fiorini, Chris Maguire, John Marquis, Anthony Scully. Subs: Matty Boylan, Lasse Sorensen, Max Sanders, Hakeeb Adelakun, Liam Cullen, Ben House, Tom Hopper.

What’s been said

Danny Cowley

‘We were in Wednesday recovering and yesterday, recovering and preparing.

‘It’s quite a unique day because we’re doing recovery protocol and preparation work for your next opponent but ultimately that’s the faze that the players are in and today is still 36 hours from our last game.

It has been a good opportunity for us to try to accelerate that process and also prepare for what is a good Lincoln team.’

Michael Appleton

‘It’s going to be a tough test. They’ve got some good players, the front three or four clearly are players that most clubs up and down this league would love to have in their teams.

‘We are mindful of the threat they have got but we need to go into the game full of confidence after the performance we put in against Wigan.’

Matchday odds (Bet365)

Pompey: 3/4

1-0 11/2, 2-0 7/1, 2-1 15/1, 3-0 12/1, 3-1 14/1, 3-2 28/1

Lincoln City: 15/4

1-0 11/1, 2-0 22/1, 2-1 14/1, 3-0 50/1, 3-1 40/1, 3-2 40/1

Draw: 11/4

0-0 9/1, 1-1 6/1, 2-2 16/1, 3-3 50/1

Referee

Trevor Kettle

Key Stats (All competitions)

Pompey

Record this season: P44 W18 D12 L14

League Position: 10th (63 points)

Top goalscorer: Marcus Harness (12)

Most Assists: Ronan Curtis (7)

Discipline: 76 yellow cards, 3 red card

Lincoln City

Record this season: P46 W13 D12 L21

League Position: 18th (46 points)

Top goalscorer: Anthony Scully (10)

Most Assists: Anthony Scully (7)

Discipline: 78 yellow cards, 4 red card

Form guide

Pompey

W 3-0 Rotherham (H) – League One

L 1-0 Cheltenham (A) – League One

D 1-1 Bolton (A) – League One

D 0-0 Wycombe (H) – League One

L 1-0 Plymouth (A) – League One

Lincoln City

L 3-1 Wigan (H) – League One

D 1-1 Fleetwood (A) – League One

W 2-1 Charlton (A) – League One

L 1-0 Shrewsbury (A) – League One

D 0-0 Sunderland (H) – League One

Other fixtures (3pm kick-off unless stated)

Accrington Stanley v Burton Albion, Charlton Athletic v Morecambe, Cheltenham Town v Gillingham, Crewe Alexandra v AFC Wimbledon, Doncaster Rovers v Bolton Wanderers, Fleetwood Town v Oxford United, Sunderland v Shrewsbury Town, Wycombe Wanderers v Plymouth Argyle.