The Game
Lincoln City v Argyle. LNER Stadum. Saturday, 16 August. 3pm. Sky Bet League One.
The Opposition
Lincoln City, who finished 11th in League One last season, began this season with a 2-0 home win against Reading. Goals came via an own goal after 20 minutes, and a Reeco Hackett strike midway through the second period.
The following week, the Imps lost by the same scoreline away from home, at AFC Wimbledon. Lincoln’s Adam Jackson was sent off in the first half with the score at 0-0, and Wimbledon took the lead from the penalty spot not long before the interval. Nathan Aslimwe sealed the game with 13 minutes to go.
In the Carabao Cup, Lincoln beat Harrogate Town, away from home, to reach round two. Jack Moylan, Freddie Draper and Rob Street were all on the scoresheet before Harrogate got one back at the very end.
The Gaffer
Michael Skubala never had a career as a professional footballer. He held non-league coaching posts, as well as Academy roles at Nottingham Forest and Coventry City, before becoming Director of Football at Loughborough University and manager of the England Futsal team.
He became under-21s head coach at Leeds United in 2022, and was interim boss at Elland Road for three games following the sacking of Jesse Marsch. He became a first-team coach under Javi Gracia, but left in November 2023 to take the top job at Lincoln.
The Squad
The most well-known name in the Lincoln squad to Argyle fans is Sonny Bradley. Bradley, now 33, spent two seasons as Pilgrim, scoring 11 goals in 96 games, and playing a huge part in the promotion season of 2016/17, winning Player of the Year in the process. The former Hull, Portsmouth and Crawley centre-back left Argyle to join Luton Town, with whom he ascended to the Premier League and became club captain. He left for Derby County, and for the second half of end of last season joined Wycombe Wanderers on loan. He joined Lincoln in the summer.
Right-back Tendayi Darikwa (below), 33, signed for Lincoln in the summer of 2024, and in his first season won the Player of the Season award, playing 44 league games and scoring five goals. Darikwa has played for Chesterfield, Burnley, Nottingham Forest, Wigan Athletic and Apollon Limassol. He has 14 caps for Zimbabwe.
Reeco Hackett, 27, is entering his third season at Lincoln. Beginning his career at Dagenham & Redbridge, the winger moved to Charlton Athletic, and after loans at Boreham Wood and Bromley, joined the latter permanently. A short while later, Hackett moved to Portsmouth, but returned to Bromley on loan six months later. He also had a loan at Southend United before he headed to Lincoln.
Previous Meetings
The last time Argyle met Lincoln was in 2022/23. In the away game, the sides drew 1-1, with Adam Randell scoring the opening goal, with Max Sanders equalising for City. At Home Park, Lincoln won 2-0, with goals from Olamide Shodipo and Ben House.
A Strip for the Trip
Argyle will be wearing their green home kit for this game.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s coverage will begin with Argyle Breakfast at 10am, hosted by Erin Black and Aaron Cusack. Charlie Price will host the pre-match show, which starts at 2.30pm, alongside Marc Edworthy, and then hand over to the stadium for live commentary from Rob McNichol and former Pilgrims midfielder Lee Makel.
Match passes to watch this game are available outside of the UK & Ireland. Click here to get yours.
