Lincoln City

Lincoln City joint head coach Tom Shaw spoke to BBC Radio Lincolnshire after his side's 1-0 defeat at Watford. For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Watford and Lincoln City meet in the league for the first time in 47 years on Tuesday (19:45 GMT).

Both sides have won just one of their past six games in the Championship.

• This is the first meeting between Watford and Lincoln City since November 1981, with the Hornets winning a League Cup third round replay 3-2 at Sincil Bank.

• This is the fourth league campaign in which Watford and Lincoln City have met. They drew both games in 1961-62 (third tier), Lincoln won both in 1975-76 (fourth tier) and Watford won both in 1978-79 (third tier).

• Watford have lost five of their past nine league games against promoted sides (W2 D2), going down 5-1 at Cardiff City already this season.

• Watford beat Charlton 2-0 in their last home league game, last winning consecutively at Vicarage Road in December/January last season.

• Lincoln have kept more away league clean sheets than any other side in England's top four tiers in 2026 (9).

Birmingham City returned to winning ways with a 3-1 victory at Lincoln City in the Championship on Saturday.

We asked for the views of both sets of fans and here is a selection of what they had to say.

LINCOLN FANS

Paul - The big lesson to learn is that you have to take your chances in the Championship. Birmingham proved just that.

Nigel - Lincoln outplayed by a very good Birmingham side. The long ball tactics failed the mighty Imps. We make it hard for ourselves when we constantly gift the ball to the opposition.

Stephen - Played to their strengths, if the key moments in the match had gone our way the scoreline would have been so different. Ethan Laird should have been sent off for the high boot, Lincoln had a clear penalty refused.

Brian - If Lincoln drop down into the relegation places, they will not get out and will need new coach.

Steve - Lacking intent, width and any real idea.

BIRMINGHAM FANS

Richard - A game dominated by the long ball. First half was physical with a number of yellow cards and plenty of head tennis. Quality football was missing. Blues' centre-backs were excellent but we must get better to challenge for promotion.

Donald - Good win but keep the ball on the floor. All the best teams look to accurate passing and speed.

Patron - Well done you guys. Could be playing Villa next season with any amount of luck.

Bob - A great team performance.

Lincoln City joint head coach Chris Cohen spoke to BBC Radio Lincoln after the loss against Birmingham City. For a written selection of his quotes, click here

Image source, Opta

Birmingham will seek to climb into the automatic promotion places in the Championship, for a few hours at least, as they visit Lincoln on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Blues lie seventh, despite seeing their winning run ended at Cardiff last time out, but could jump into second on goal difference if they can continue their impressive run of results at SIncil Bank.

The Imps have slipped to 15th after taking one point from four games prior to Saturday's thumping 4-1 win over beleaguered Burnley but could return to the top-half with a second straight home victory.

• Lincoln City have failed to win any of their past 16 league games against Birmingham City (D6 L10), losing both meetings in 2024-25 in League One when they last met.

• Birmingham City have lost just two of their 18 away league games against Lincoln City (W10 D6), a 3-1 defeat in March 1901 and 3-2 defeat in March 1910.

• After beating Burnley 4-1 last time out at Sincil Bank, Lincoln will be looking to win successive home league games in the second tier for the first time since September 1960.

• Birmingham have lost just two of their past 17 league games (W8 D7), though one of these defeats came in their last match at Cardiff (0-1).

• Birmingham have made just 13 starting XI changes in the Championship so far this season – four fewer than any other side in the competition (Blackburn on 17).

Lincoln co-head coach Tom Shaw has described his side's comeback win against Burnley as "relentless".

The Imps thrashed the relegation-threatened Clarets 4-1 to put an end to their four-game winless run, and bag a first three points at home in the Championship.

"We knew this was an important day and a big opportunity, and a dangerous opponent, so I'm just delighted at that feeling at full time for everybody," Shaw told BBC Radio Lincolnshire.

"The lads went after it, especially in the second half, were relentless with their work and got a big reward."

Lincoln fell behind 1-0 in the first half, before equalised just before the break.

"After a little discussion at half time we felt we could be a little more ruthless. We thought they were there for the taking and our lads were a little bit tentative at certain moments," Shaw added.

"But they went right after it for that second 45 minutes of football. In every area of the game we were far superior."

Burnley will aim to pull themselves out of the bottom three again when they visit Lincoln City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Clarets are just one point from safety and have only lost one of their past four matches (W1 D2).

But the Imps are winless in four (D1 L3) and will be hoping to capitalise on Burnley's injury woes to help build more distance between them and the relegation zone.

• This is the first league meeting between Lincoln City and Burnley since the 1998-99 third tier campaign, with both matches finishing 1-1 between the pair that season.

• Burnley are unbeaten in each of their last two league visits to Lincoln City (W1 D1), as many times as in their previous eight trips (W1 D1 L6).

• Lincoln City are one of three sides in the Championship this season without a home league win (D2 L3), while they could lose three in a row at home in the same league season for the first time since December 2021.

• Burnley won their last away league game against Watford; the Clarets haven't won successive league matches on the road since April 2025.

• Burnley have already dropped 15 points from losing positions in the Championship this season – the most of any side in the competition.

Lincoln City head coach Chris Cohen spoke to BBC Radio Lincolnshire after they let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 at Millwall.

"I'm gutted for the fans who came all the way down to south London. Amazing. I thought the performance was excellent and deservedly went into a lead.

"You can never be satisfied when you go 2-0 up and don't win the game.

"We had a couple of monster chances at the start of the second half. If you go 3-0 up then no matter where you are you feel confident you'll go on to win the game.

"The timing of the goals is everything. We have to go back and look at the goals and how we conceded them but I thought the way the boys defended the last 10 minutes with 10 men was exceptional."

Lincoln City head coach Chris Cohen has spoken to BBC Radio Lincolnshire about the unrelenting nature of the Championship.

The 39-year-old, who shares the job as Imps boss with Tom Shaw, says there has been little time to reflect on Wednesday's 6-0 defeat by West Ham as they get ready to travel to Millwall for an early kick-off on Saturday (12:30 BST).

Cohen called the trip to The Den another of the "incredibly hard" challenges that his side is getting used to facing since the Imps were promoted to the second tier after a 65-year absence.

You can listen to the full interview by hitting the play button above, or head over to Lincoln City's BBC Sounds page for more.

Millwall and Lincoln City meet in a league game for the first time in 27 years on Saturday (12:30 BST).

This will be only the fifth time they have come face-to-face in the second tier of English football, the last time was in 1933.

• This will be the first season in which Millwall and Lincoln City have faced each other since 1998-99 in the third tier, when both sides won their home game 2-0.

• Lincoln City have won just one of eight league visits to Millwall (D1 L6), a 2-0 victory in May 1984.

• When in losing positions in the Championship this season (19.5% of the time), Millwall have managed to score just one goal – the fewest of any side in the competition.

• Lincoln have lost their past two Football League visits to London without scoring; they have not lost three in succession in the capital since March 2008 while they have not lost three in a row while failing to score in each since March 1999.

• Since the start of 2026, Millwall have won each of their four Championship matches against newly promoted opposition, winning those matches by a combined 13-0 scoreline.

We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's eventful Championship match between Lincoln City and West Ham.

The Imps played most of the game with nine men after two early red cards and the Hammers punished them by scoring six.

Here are some of your comments:

Lincoln fans

Neil: Architect of their own downfall, enabled West Ham to take all three points without getting out of first gear.

Peter: Feeling nothing but pride for the nine warriors who stayed professional to the end of a very difficult evening. Clearly the game and result would have been very different but for two bad decisions by two good players. Some very positive performances by players, despite the result. Onwards and upwards, up the Imps.

Kieran: Although the result finished 6–0 against us, the score doesn't tell the full story of the effort, commitment and determination shown by the nine-man team. Every player gave it their all, continued to work hard for one another and never stopped trying, even when things became difficult.

As a new team in the league, we knew there would be challenges, and this game was a reminder of the steep learning curve we face. The pace, physicality and quality of opposition are all things we will continue to learn from as we gain more experience together.

Saying that, I would not have bet against Lincoln if it was 11 v 11.

There are plenty of lessons to take away from this match, and while the result is disappointing, there were positives in the attitude and determination shown by the lads. We will take these lessons on board, keep working hard in training and come back stronger.

Heads up, chests out, and on to the next one!

Image source, Shutterstock

West Ham fans

Nige: Very good. Took a while to break them down but a class above. A stroll for West Ham in the second half. Lincoln too pumped up, maybe hoping to intimidate the Iron. Impressed by a group of Lincoln fans who didn't stop singing. Too good for their team.

Richard: A strange game. Both teams were equal until 23 minutes when the Imps went down to nine men. After that it became a one-way street in which the Hammers couldn't be stopped from going forward and scoring goals almost at will. A six-goal win was probably a fair result even though the Imps were quite disciplined in defence.

The Hammers will need to improve their performance against the league leaders on Saturday if they want to get something from the game. A defeat will see them fall seven points off the top.

Dave: Yet another very poor first half, even against a nine-man team. Lincoln played well.

I just don't understand why we can't play in the first half - until we scored you would have thought we [were the team who] only had nine players.

It seems we have to wait for the second half and the substitutes before we start playing. He [boss Nuno] really needs to look at the team selection, the young Norwegian lad [Edvin Austbo] looks really good and quick, give him a start not coming off the bench.

Lincoln City joint head coach Tom Shaw spoke to BBC Radio Lincolnshire after their 6-0 home defeat by West Ham.

For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

West Ham United will be hoping they can regain their position in the automatic promotion places during the midweek games after a disappointing 1-1 draw against Queens Park Rangers on Friday saw them drop to third.

They visit Lincoln City for Wednesday's headline event (20:00 BST) with the Imps looking to cut off a two-match losing run.

• This will be the first league match between Lincoln City and West Ham United since December 1957, a 6-1 win for the Hammers.

• West Ham are unbeaten in seven meetings with Lincoln City in all competitions (W5 D2), most recently a 1-0 League Cup third round victory in September 2023.

• Lincoln have failed to win their opening four home games of a Football League season for the first time since 2004-05 (first 5).

• West Ham are looking to avoid defeat in their first five away league games of a season for the fourth time in the 21st century, after 2011-12 (Championship), 2015-16 (Premier League) and 2021-22 (Premier League).

• West Ham have won each of their last five league games against newly promoted opponents, including a 3-2 win at Bolton already this season.

Lincoln City joint head coach Chris Cohen spoke to BBC Radio Lincolnshire after Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Sheffield United.

"I thought for 35 minutes it was the game that we probably wanted. We had a decent chance with Fred, but weren't quite able to put it on target," he said.

"And then the timing of the goals today, and the quality of the goals were real sucker punches.

"It ended up being a tough day, although statistically I think it will look really even, it was a tough last half an hour."

Image source, Getty Images

West Ham United are celebrating winning both the Championship's manager and player of the month awards for September.

Boss Nuno Espirito Santo oversaw an unbeaten run last month which produced four wins from their five league games in which they scored 18 goals.

Defender Konstantinos Mavropanos had a prolific September for the Hammers, scoring four goals while also helping them keep two clean sheets as they moved up to second place in the table.

"I am delighted to win this award, but it was an excellent team effort this month," said Mavropanos.

"We had some good results, went on a good run, and obviously this award means that we are doing something good with the team.

"I am the one who has been given the award this time, but it could have been any of my team-mates, and I am just really happy that we are in a good way right now."

Lincoln head coaches Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw, Swansea's Vitor Matos and Mark Robins of Stoke City were also nominated for the manager award.