This clash presents two in-form outfits in the form of Exeter, on a three-game winning streak in all competitions, and Lincoln, five unbeaten in all competitions. Confidence therefore is high in both camps and each will be eager to get back onto the pitch to try and maintain such form. Therefore, an early goal either way would be no real shock at all.

Exeter have had 18 matches this season in league and cup and within 14 of those a first-half goal was scored. This is a success rate of 77.78%, so it would go somewhat against the grain if Saturday’s encounter failed to do so.

Regards Lincoln, the first-half goal rate across all their fixtures in the current campaign is less at 57.89%, which is still significant. However, The Imps are currently on a five-game run where a goal was netted inside the opening 45 minutes.

The form guide suggests anything could happen in this contest, but there is one notable factor that may afford Lincoln quite a significant advantage. That is because it has become no secret that Exeter wanted this match postponed due to international call-ups. Therefore, preparations won’t have been ideal as the manager clearly feels they are understrength to a point where he perhaps doesn’t truly believe in them this weekend.

Something else that cannot be ignored is Lincoln’s impressive away run over long-term. Only Blackpool and Crawley have defeated them across the entirely of 2024. That Crawley setback came quite recently, meaning that it’ll further motivation the side to ensure they begin another prolonged run of unbeaten action particularly away from their LNER Stadium.

Another intriguing statistic for Exeter is the sheer fact they’ve not faced too many of the shining lights in League One so far. Going into this weekend, they’ve not faced any of the current top-seven home or away. However, they have suffered defeat in three of their four meetings against the others currently in the top-half, which is telling. The fact they’ve only faced four of the top-half and are themselves still in the bottom-half suggests a tough time could come for Exeter.

Lincoln are the strongest team in League One in terms of scoring goals collectively across set pieces. Therefore, it is in their best interests to make sure they gain a few corners, purely because it is a major part of their game plan.

Tactically, playing in their wing back formation naturally means utilising the ball in the wide areas. They possess many tricky players in these positions and are prepared to get to the by-line and swing crosses into the box. Lincoln also top the league in terms of number of headed goals, so again it is important they try to do so. Opponents are quick to try and close down such attempted crosses, which again raises the prospect of corners.

Thomas Parsons is the man with the whistle on Saturday and he certainly falls into the category of being a somewhat ‘card happy’ official. That has the case this season on a count of him averaging 4.67 cards per match whenever he has officiated men’s senior fixtures. Last season, that average ended up at 4.72, so he is largely performing to form as things stand.

This is also quite likely to be a tight game between two teams that have proved quite hard to beat recently. With that being the case, some frustrations could boil over if struggling to create the openings they desire. Each coach has also drilled their respective teams to be well organised out of possession.

What perhaps stand out more than anything is the fact this clash in a top-four battle in League One in relation to teams committing the most fouls per game on average. Wigan top that statistic with 14.1, whereas Lincoln and Exeter are narrowly behind with 13.9 and 13.8 respectively. This means it could be quite a stop-start occasion and the referee will only be prepared to let so much go before dipping into his pocket.

Paudie O’Connor has quite a few integral roles within the Lincoln squad. Firstly, he is the captain, but he is also their main target on set pieces. The Imps top the league for goals scored against set pieces and the ex-Bradford man is a big reason why.

Despite being a centre back, he is their joint third-highest league top-scorer, proving how effective he is in the opponent’s box. In addition to this, the Irishman is ranked second within the squad in league action for number of shots, the vast majority coming from corners, free kicks etc.

Regards discipline, he can be known for getting on the wrong side of the referee. Collectively he has received five cards in League One this season, one of which was a red. However, these five have come across 15 fouls committed. Therefore, he is being carded for a third of the fouls he is making, which is a very high strike rate.

Ben House is Lincoln’s league top-scorer this season with four goals, which may not sound so prolific, but it is because many players contribute with goals across the squad. Also, House is probably the best forward in the league out of possession. He presses very cleverly and effectively, but he is prone to committing quite a few fouls.

The former Eastleigh man is also ranked third within the Imps roster in terms of fouls committed in league contests. Interestingly, the top-three in the team in this category are all strikers, which indicates this is what manager Michael Skubala wants from his front men.

House has been carded in two of his last three appearances in all competitions as well. He has been carded four times all season, so he is currently amidst something of a hot streak in that respect. Lincoln play a style where they concede possession and are happy to do so, however it will lead to them making plenty of fouls on a count of the fact they are very regularly trying to regain possession, and much more than others.

Every single team in League One has seen a much higher average than 8 corners per game this season. Therefore, it would go completely against the grain if this battle between Exeter and Lincoln did not do so as well.

Exeter are actually ranked only second to Barnsley in relation to number of average corners in their league fixtures. Exactly 12 corners have been averaged for them, whereas for their Saturday opponents it is down to 9.79, but clearly well above 8, which is all that is required.

The Imps are the highest scorers at this level from set pieces, so they need to be collating corner kick opportunities. Whereas Exeter are second, again only to Barnsley, in terms of league goals scored specifically on corners.

Exeter are within the top-ten, along with Lincoln, at League One level in relation to number of fouls committed this season. Therefore, quite a combative contest is set to materialise. Exeter however are the ones who will likely be more frustrated about this considering they are the home side and a stop-start contest will mean finding it hard to build up momentum.

Lincoln also seem to be one of those sides that brings the worst out of the opposition. That is because in four of their previous five league encounters the opposing team has received two or more cards. Although Exeter aren’t necessarily a team that is carded a great deal, facing this particular opponent and specifically how they play does appear to bring out some negative emotions.

Exeter are set to be below full-strength here as they are missing key players due to international duty. It is also no secret they tried to get this clash postponed as a result but were unable to do so. Therefore, the disrupted nature of this could spill out onto the pitch with Exeter handicapped, meaning they potentially cannot play at or near their best.