June 23, 2022 9.44 am This story is over 21 months old

Lincoln City to start new season at home — EFL fixtures revealed

A few tricky spells in the fixture list

By Local Democracy Reporter

Lincoln City’s first league game under the Mark Kennedy era will be at home to newly promoted Exeter City at the end of July, as the countdown to the start of the League One season begins.

The EFL published its fixture list for the Championship, League One and League Two on Thursday morning, and the Imps found out when they would be playing the rest of the sides in the division.

This season is an intriguing one for the Imps, as the club embarks on a new era following the departure of Michael Appleton and arrival of Mark Kennedy as head coach.

Lincoln fans will get their first chance to see Kennedy’s play style in a competitive game on Saturday, July 30, as the Imps begin their season at home to recently promoted side Exeter City.

This is followed by a tricky August period, in which they will have to play Portsmouth, Oxford United and Peterborough United away from home, as well as last season’s League Two champions Forest Green Rovers at the LNER Stadium on August 13.

Pitchside at the LNER Stadium. | Photo: The Lincolnite

Other big fixtures to look out for include a home match with arguably the division’s most talked about club Derby County, with Wayne Rooney’s Rams coming to the LNER Stadium on Tuesday, September 13.

October sees Bolton, Charlton, Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday and Barnsley in consecutive fixtures for the Imps, which could end up being the toughest spell of the season.

There will be a brief break at the end of November as players jet off to Qatar for the World Cup this winter, but League One resumes on Saturday, December 3 to maintain English football’s traditional festive calendar.

Boxing Day will see an away trip for the Imps, as they travel to Burton Albion, while New Year’s Day is sure to be an exciting fixture – in the form of Ipswich Town at the LNER Stadium.

The campaign ends with a home match against Shrewsbury Town on Saturday, May 6, and the Imps will be hoping to be right in the mix at the top end of the table once May arrives.

You can check out the full fixture list for Lincoln City on the club website.


Grimsby Town

Utter joy and relief for Mariners boss Paul Hurst. | Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council

The Mariners were also keeping an eye on the fixture list this morning, as Grimsby Town found out who they would be playing on their return to the English Football League – following a famous play-off promotion earlier in June.

Grimsby’s first League Two match is away at Leyton Orient, meaning the return of outright professional football at Blundell Park will be the following weekend against Northampton Town on Saturday, August 6.

Town fans will also be on their travels for Boxing Day, heading up to Harrogate Town, while welcoming fellow promoted side Stockport County on New Year’s Day.

The season rounds off with a home game versus AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, May 6. You can again see the full fixture list on Grimsby Town’s club website.