Sheff Utd, on the other hand, received a bye into the second round as a result of their promotion to the Premier League last season, and they will be hoping for another cup run after reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup in April.
The Blades were defeated by eventual champions Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in that competition, and they were on the wrong end of another loss to the Citizens at the weekend.
with Rodri’s late strike handing his side all three points after Jayden Bogle looked to have claimed a draw by equalising with only five minutes of normal time remaining.
Having lost all three of their opening league games by one goal, Paul Heckingbottom may have more positive thoughts than negative ones about his players’ performances following a difficult summer transfer window, which has led many people to completely write off their chances of remaining in England’s top flight at the end of the current campaign.
While that will clearly be an incredibly difficult task, the 46-year-old will view Wednesday’s cup tie against League One opponents as an excellent opportunity to build confidence ahead of hosting potential relegation rivals Everton on Saturday.
Lincoln, meanwhile, have built on last season’s solid 11th-placed finish in Mark Kennedy’s first season at the club by claiming 10 points from their opening five games in England’s third tier.
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Indeed, only Oxford United have collected more points than them so far this season, meaning only goal difference is keeping them outside of the automatic promotion spots after their impressive 3-0 win against Blackpool on Saturday.
For the third time in their last four matches, the Imps managed to win alongside keeping a clean sheet, showcasing Kennedy’s continued excellent work in terms of making them defensively stable after they posted the joint-fifth best defensive record in the division last time out.
Kennedy and his players will no doubt be hoping for another cup run after knocking out Championship side Bristol City to reach the fourth round of this competition last season, even if gaining promotion to the Championship for the first time in the club’s history will clearly be their priority.
