Lincoln City will be hoping to add to their impressive start to the season with a positive result at home to Southend United this Saturday.
The Imps are unbeaten in all competitions having kept three clean sheets in their opening three games. City beat former Premier League side Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night in the Carabao Cup first round after beating Accrington Stanley and Rotherham United in SkyBet League One.
Recent Form
Southend United have failed to pick up any points in their opening two SkyBet League One fixtures losing out to Coventry and Blackpool respectively.
However, The Shrimpers beat Stevenage in this week’s Carabao Cup first round and will now face MK Dons in the second round.
Simon Cox has been United’s only goal scorer this season with a late consolation goal coming against Blackpool last weekend. Southend lost the game 3-1 despite having 63% of the possession.
Manager comments
The Blues are currently managed by former Man City defender Kevin Bond. The 62-year-old has previously managed Stafford Rangers, AFC Bournemouth and Hong Kong Pegasus.
Bond has told press he is expecting a difficult game, praising the Imps ahead of this weekend’s clash: “We are under no illusion how difficult a game it will be, they are a team on the up with trend that is for sure. They have had a couple of fantastic seasons and everyone at Lincoln has done extremely well.
“They have had a go, the whole club has had a real go and they have had an amazing start to the season. I expect it to be a very difficult game for us.”
Previous Meetings
It has been eight years since the Imps last faced Southend in competitive action. On-loan forward Ashley Grimes scored a brace as City beat the Shrimpers 2-1 at Sincil Bank.
A game which will stick in Lincoln fan’s heads is the heartache of the 2005 League Two Play-Offs Final. Almost 20,000 fans flooded to the Millennium Stadium for the fixture which saw Freddy Eastwood and Duncan Jupp score extra time winners for Southend.
One to Watch – Liam Ridgewell
Former Premier League defender Liam Ridgewell signed a one-year deal with Southend United following his release from Hull City. The defender made his debut for the Blues against Blackpool.
The 35-year-old started his career with West Ham United’s youth academy before signing for Aston Villa where he turned professional in 2002.
In 2007, Ridgewell left Villa for fierce rivals Birmingham City, the defender went on to make over 152 league appearances for the Blues where he picked up a League Cup medal in 2011 after beating Arsenal.
After a spell with West Brom, the defender moved to America signing for MLS side Portland Timbers as a Designated Player.
Ridgewell was selected for the 2015 MLS All Star squad before going on to win the MLS cup and Western Conference in 2015. The former England U21 made 115 appearances for the Timbers, scoring seven goals.
Tickets for the game are still available from the ticket office at Sincil Bank and online HERE
The game is also available to stream internationally and there is domestic audio streaming of the commentary courtesy of BBC Radio Lincolnshire on We Are Imps iFollow - For full details - CLICK HERE
