Lincoln City head to Ashton Gate on Tuesday night looking for a third successive away league victory, with a familiar face waiting in the opposite dugout.
Michael Skubala adds an obvious narrative to the meeting with Bristol City, but there is plenty to discuss beyond our former head coach. Rob Dickie, a one-time Imps loanee, is in their defence, making this the Dickie Derby (I’ll get my coat). Skubala’s side have taken ten points from their opening six Championship matches, although a heavy defeat at Southampton on Saturday interrupted a run of three successive wins.
We arrive after Freddie Draper’s winner at Preston, with four unbeaten league games behind us and successive clean sheets on the road. Kick-off is at 7:45 pm.
Bristol City’s Form
Bristol’s opening six matches have produced three wins, a draw and two defeats, with ten goals scored and 11 conceded.
Their season began with a 2-0 home defeat against Millwall, a game in which Adam Randell was sent off after 36 minutes. A 2-2 draw at Birmingham followed, where Dom Ballard’s late goal looked to have secured victory before a stoppage-time penalty denied them.
They then put together three wins. Lorent Tolaj and Jason Knight scored in a 2-1 victory against Portsmouth at Ashton Gate, before Scott Twine, Lisav Eissat and Ballard helped secure a 3-1 success at Preston.
The third victory required a late turnaround at Burnley. Trailing to an Aaron Ramsey goal, Bristol equalised through Rob Dickie in the 82nd minute before Yu Hirakawa struck in stoppage time.
That sequence ended at Southampton. Tolaj pulled the score back to 2-1 after Cyle Larin had scored twice, but two further Saints goals made it a 4-1 defeat.
There are two sides to that record. Bristol have scored in five successive league games and shown they can find important goals late on. However, they are still waiting for their first clean sheet, conceding in all six matches.
Their home record is also worth keeping in perspective. They have played only twice at Ashton Gate in the league this season, losing to Millwall and beating Portsmouth.
Summer Business
Bristol have committed significant money to their attacking options, with Ballard arriving from Leyton Orient for around £5m and Tolaj joining from Plymouth Argyle for around £4m. Both have scored twice in the opening six league matches, sharing the lead with Twine.
Sam Greenwood, who worked under Skubala at Leeds, arrived from Pogoń Szczecin for £2m, while Eissat cost £2.13m from Maccabi Haifa. Those four deals alone account for more than £13m in fees. There were also arrivals from Wigan Athletic and Volendam in goalkeeper Sam Tickle and midfielder Gibson Yah, while Jed Wallace, Bradley Collins and Elijah Adebayo joined on free transfers. Billy O’Neill was recruited from Bray Wanderers, initially for the under-21s.
Deadline day brought another midfield option in Brian De Keersmaecker, who joined on an initial loan from Oxford United, although his involvement has been delayed by his recovery from shoulder surgery.
Bristol City Team News
Skubala offered an encouraging assessment of his squad in the latest injury update, although those comments came before Saturday’s trip to Southampton.
At that stage, there were no fresh problems expected to rule players out, with Luke McNally, a one-time Imps target, continuing his longer recovery and De Keersmaecker building his fitness.
McNally has been absent since suffering a serious knee injury in February 2025. He has undergone further operations following the initial surgery and is gradually increasing his involvement in training.
“He’s training very well; some days he’s in with us, some days he’s in with the medical and physical team. So far so good, but he’s still quite a bit of time off.”
The defender had not yet reached the stage of playing under-21 matches or friendlies, with Skubala making clear that a first-team return remained some way away.
De Keersmaecker was further along in his return to training, but Bristol were being cautious after he missed substantial playing time and a proper pre-season.
“We’ll see. It’s probably still a little bit early for Brian, but he’s in full training now.”
That leaves his availability for Tuesday uncertain on the information supplied, rather than establishing him as either definitely available or ruled out.
The Referee
Tim Robinson takes charge at Ashton Gate, assisted by Jacob Graham and Jacob Lehane, with Matt Corlett as fourth official.
Robinson began refereeing in the Football League in 2011, becoming a full-time official in 2016 when he left his job as a PE teacher. He took charge of his first Premier League match in December 2019 and was promoted to Select Group 1 for the 2023/24 season.
His three Championship appointments this season have produced nine yellow cards, with no reds or penalties awarded. According to the referee statistics, his average of three bookings per game ranks him 18th, while he sits fifth for fouls awarded per tackle.
That suggests an official relatively quick to blow his whistle, but less inclined to follow it with a card. It is only a three-game sample, although the distinction is useful: a stricter approach to challenges does not necessarily mean more bookings.
What Can We Expect?
Bristol City’s results suggest a side capable of causing problems, but one which has given opponents opportunities in every league game so far. Their late goals against Birmingham and Burnley also underline the need to stay switched on throughout.
The Robins look remarkably similar to us: low possession, aerial strength, dangerous set pieces and strong defensive numbers. They rank 22nd for possession compared with our 24th, and second for aerial duels against our third. Both sides record a challenge intensity of 4.3, while we rank second for interceptions at 46.4, ahead of Bristol in fourth at 41.93. They have scored six set-piece goals to our two.
The opportunity for City might be to start aggressively, score early and force Bristol out of their preferred approach. That could also unsettle the home crowd, whose patience with direct football may depend on results. We know how awkward similar opponents can be, but that familiarity could help us identify weaknesses. A draw would still represent a very useful away point.
The reunion with Skubala will attract attention, but the immediate challenge is straightforward: build on Preston against a side looking to respond to its heaviest defeat of the season.
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