Carabao Cup Second Round: Summer Seaside Tripe For Lincoln City

You might think there is a typo in the title, but our reward for progressing in the Carabao Cup does feel like tripe. Lincoln City at Blackpool. Urgh.

City will travel to Bloomfield Road to face Blackpool in the second round of the Carabao Cup, with the tie scheduled for the week commencing Monday 24 August. A six-hour round trip to face a club we’ve played too much over the past few seasons. As for another away draw: awful.

The Imps booked their place in round two with an impressive 2-1 victory against Derby County, and their reward is a trip to familiar surroundings. Blackpool were League One opponents last season, and City’s most recent visit to Bloomfield Road came in December 2025, when the sides shared the points in a 2-2 draw.

City made a flying start that afternoon, with Jack Moylan opening the scoring after just three minutes before Rob Street doubled the advantage on 18 minutes. Lee Evans pulled one back from the penalty spot before the interval, and Ashley Fletcher struck six minutes from time to deny the Imps all three points. It was a game in which Blackpool enjoyed the greater share of possession and chances, but City came within touching distance of leaving the Fylde coast with another notable away victory.

The last time the Imps actually won at Bloomfield Road was one of the more dramatic encounters between the clubs. That came in October 2020, during the campaign that eventually ended with City reaching the League One play-off final. CJ Hamilton put Blackpool ahead before Jorge Grant levelled from the penalty spot, and although Demetri Mitchell restored the hosts’ advantage late on, the contest then swung decisively in City’s favour.

James Husband was dismissed in the 84th minute before Grant converted a second penalty almost immediately afterwards. Lewis Montsma then struck in the 88th minute to complete a remarkable 3-2 victory for Michael Appleton’s side.

Cup meetings between the clubs have been rather less frequent. The most recent came all the way back in January 1979, when Blackpool won 2-1 at Bloomfield Road in the FA Cup, with Ward scoring City’s goal. That means the forthcoming Carabao Cup meeting will be the first cup encounter between the sides for more than 47 years.

Carabao Cup Second Round

Elsewhere, the second-round draw produced one all-Premier League tie, with Nottingham Forest hosting Leeds United. Newcastle United welcome West Bromwich Albion, Everton travel to Preston North End and Wolves face an away trip to Sheffield Wednesday.

There are also some eye-catching Championship versus Premier League fixtures. Birmingham City host Brentford, Southampton welcome West Ham United and Burnley travel to Bradford City. Chelsea have been handed a home tie against Luton Town, Tottenham Hotspur will face Charlton Athletic and Fulham have been drawn against AFC Wimbledon.

The competition remains regionalised at this stage, with City and Blackpool included in the northern section. The nine English clubs competing in Europe this season will enter at the third-round stage, meaning another victory would put the Imps into a draw containing the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United.

Exact details for the trip to Bloomfield Road, including the date, kick-off time and ticket information, are still to be confirmed.