Lincoln City host Portsmouth at Sincil Bank on 22 August 2026 in a fixture that means far more to one side than a standard three points. Lincoln's first home Championship match since 1961 arrives off the back of their League One title win in 2025-26, when they accumulated 103 points and both teams come in without a point after opening weekend defeats, which gives this result an edge that neither side really needs this early in what will be a survival focused season. Lincoln's supporters have waited 65 years for this and the atmosphere inside Sincil Bank should reflect that, whereas Portsmouth are back in the Championship for a second consecutive season but arrive with their own opening weekend defeat to process.
Chris Cohen and Tom Shaw took joint charge of Lincoln on 29 May 2026, replacing Michael Skubala, while John Mousinho has managed Portsmouth since January 2023 when he replaced Danny Cowley and he holds the stronger record in head to head encounters between the two sides. Lincoln's last five matches produced four wins and one loss, with the defeat coming in their Championship opener at Middlesbrough on 15 August (1-2) and the wins including a Carabao Cup victory over Derby County on 8 August (2-1). Portsmouth's form is harder to spin positively, with three losses in five outings, including a 1-3 Championship defeat at QPR on 15 August and another 1-3 loss to West Ham in the Carabao Cup on 8 August.
Lincoln carry injury doubts over Sonny Bradley and Adam Jackson, with James Collins sidelined long term and absent from the current squad picture. Portsmouth are without Conor Ogilvie (knee) and Thomas Waddingham (ankle surgery), leaving Mousinho to patch his backline at precisely the wrong moment. Lincoln are expected to set up in a 4-2-3-1 with McGrandles anchoring midfield and Ben House and Draper operating in the spaces behind the striker. House's movement and Draper's link up work will test a Portsmouth backline already short of Ogilvie's experience, while Abu Kamara is Portsmouth's clearest route to goal out wide, his pace making transitions their most credible threat. The real question is whether Lincoln's set piece delivery can break down Portsmouth's rearguard before Kamara catches the home side over committed on the counter. Lincoln's promotion campaign was built significantly on dead ball goals and Cohen and Shaw will almost certainly target that route against a team already showing defensive frailties.
Portsmouth have dominated this fixture historically. Lincoln have won none of their seven home meetings against them, drawing once and losing six times, the most recent a 2-0 defeat at Sincil Bank in 2023-24, a record that sits uncomfortably against the significance of what Saturday represents.
We're backing Lincoln City 2-1 Portsmouth, with House and Draper creating enough openings and Kamara probably scoring the goal that makes it nervy. Home advantage, set pieces and the absences of Ogilvie and Waddingham point toward the Imps nicking this.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
