Notts County will be playing their first home game of the season tomorrow, in a Carabao Cup tie against League One opposition Lincoln City. The Imps are going into their fifth consecutive season in the third tier, after gaining promotion in the 18/19 season, the same season that Notts were relegated to the National League. That season saw the Magpies hold the eventual league winners to a 1-1 draw at Meadow Lane, thanks to an early Jon Stead penalty, however away from home we suffered a 3-1 loss - Andy Kellett getting on the scoresheet this time.
Both sides suffered big away losses in their opening fixture of the season, Sutton United beating the Magpies 5-1, and Bolton Wanderers beating Lincoln City 3-0 – this is the game to give one of the sides some momentum after such a poor start, but also a good chance to give some minutes to new signings and youth players to impress the boss. However, with the away side having a good run in the competition last season, getting to the round of 16 before losing 2-1 to then Premier League side Southampton, they may look at playing some more key players to have a similar run.
Nottinghamshire-born Tyler Walker was a big addition to Lincoln City this summer, the centre-forward had previously played for the Imps in the 19/20 season, where he scored 14 times in 29 league appearances, as well as getting 4 assists. He went to Coventry for the next three years, but only managed to get ten league goals. He never hit the heights for the Sky Blues as he did for Lincoln and Mansfield, but he has made a return this season to try and get back to his prolific goal scoring ways. As he only played 45 minutes in their opening game, he could be given more minutes against us to help him get used to the new tactics under a different manager - if so, he will pose a massive threat for our backline.
Tyler Walker celebrates (Image: Andy Commins/Daily Mirror)
Notts will be looking to rest a few key players ahead of the weekend’s fixture against Grimsby, however there may be an opportunity for some new players to be given their first competitive minutes for the Magpies tomorrow. New signings such as Ollie Tipton and Will Randall didn’t get a minute in our first game, so we could be seeing them feature from the start to give them some match sharpness and give them some tactical familiarity. Dan Crowley could also feature after only coming on as a substitute at Sutton, it is important for him to get used to his role behind the striker as quickly as possible, as he would have been brought in as the direct replacement for Ruben Rodrigues, and we need that creative player to link midfield and attack. Luke Williams could also give some competitive minutes to some youngsters. Lucien Mahovo and Luther Munakandafa have been the two stand-out youngsters in terms of minutes played, but we could also see the likes of Charlie Gill and Madou Cisse play tomorrow, and, hopefully, play with some freedom.