City return to the LNER Stadium on Saturday to host Mansfield Town (3pm KO).
The Imps are back on home soil following three back-to-back games on the road, in which they remained unbeaten with four points in the league against Northampton Town and Bolton Wanderers before a Carabao Cup victory against Burton Albion on Tuesday night.
Ben House made an impact from the bench, curling an effort in from the edge of the area to seal City’s place in the third round with a tie against world champions Chelsea to come.
Michael Skubala:
"We’re at home, we want to take the game to them. We’ve started well so we want to go again and try to get the three points.
“They are a very good side, I watched their game against Everton and I’ve seen all of their matches so far this season and for me they’re a completely different side to what they were last season.
“They’ve got a lot of strength and power and they’ve started really well. They’re up there with the leagues top goalscorers so they can be a real threat
“Mansfield’s last three performances have been really strong, especially against Leyton Orient who are a top team. We’ve just got to make sure that we perform, do our job and play the game that we want to play.”
Freddie Draper:
"I've enjoyed being in the team and getting some goals too, but most importantly, helping us get some positive results too.
"Mansfield are a good team have started well. It's going to be a tough game and we know we have to start well.
"We know that if we do that, that we'll give ourselves a very good chance of getting the result we want."
Opposition information:
Mansfield have started the 2025/26 campaign well with nine points from their opening five games. Nigel Clough's side have picked up three successive wins in the league against Exeter City, Blackpool and most recently Leyton Orient.
The Stags prevailed 4-1 winners against last season play-off semi-finalists Orient at the One Call Stadium with new addition Regan Hendry scoring twice alongside strikes from fellow new recruit Luke Bolton and striker Will Evans. Wednesday night saw Mansfield go out of the Carabao Cup with a 2-0 defeat at the Hill Dickinson Stadium against Premier League Everton.
Clough has added ten players to his squad in the summer so far, including the addition of former Imp Joe Gardner on a season-long loan deal although the forward is yet to feature in a competitive match for the Stags due to injury although he was involved on the bench against Everton in the week.
Match information:
City will be back wearing their home threads on Saturday - make sure you get yours HERE!
Aarob Bannister will be the man in the middle, Oliver Bickle and Niall Felton will be assistant referees with Aaron Farmer as the fourth official.
Legendary broadcaster John Helm will be on commentary, get your video (if overseas) or audio pass HERE!
There’s still time to get your membership for the season to ensure you can watch the Imps for the best price available and get priority for tickets against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup third round - get yours HERE!
