The best Football
Predictions
Sunderland
League One
Promotion Play-offs - Semi-finals
Sat , May 22 , 2021 16:30
2 - 1
Lincoln City
Sunderland
Lincoln City
2 - 1
Sunderland host Lincoln at the Stadium of Light (Sunderland) in the second leg of the League One Promotion Play-Offs Semi-Finals and the match kicks off at 3.30 pm (UK) on Saturday, May 22. Read our reasons for Sunderland vs Lincoln prediction and betting tips.
Having been favourites to win the play-offs prior to the first round of fixtures, Sunderland’s odds have lengthened following their reverse at Sincil Bank. The Black Cats fell to a 2-0 defeat at Lincoln in the first leg of their semi-final clash on Wednesday evening, leaving Lee Johnson’s side with an uphill battle ahead of the return leg at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. On the other hand, despite a two-goal lead from the first leg, Lincoln cannot afford to gift the initiative to their opponents in front of 10,000 fans this weekend. The Imps haven’t won any of their last five away games in the Football League play-offs (D2, L3), losing each of the last three in a row and just can’t look to sit on their lead.
Defensive errors allowed Lincoln to take a 2-0 lead from the first leg at the LNER Stadium, while in the second half the Black Cats spurned a number of opportunities. To make things worse, it is confirmed that Sunderland will be without Denver Hume and Conor McLaughlin, two key players, for Saturday’s crunch clash. However, Lee Johnson insists that Sunderland's play-off hopes are still alive after a defeat in the first leg, and has challenged his players to produce one of the biggest days in the club's recent history on Saturday.
While fitness issues can’t be used as an excuse for a poor performance against Lincoln City - it certainly hasn’t helped that players have needed to play out of position, while others have perhaps had to play more games than they should have done - Lee Johnson needs to find a solution within his squad and make sure that the team are ready for Saturday. After all, Sunderland need to put in a big performance if they’re to have any chance of reaching the play-off final.
As for Lincoln, they were comfortably the better side in the first half. Goals from Tom Hopper and Brennan Johnson have left Sunderland with a mountain to climb, but anything can happen in the play-offs. Sunderland grew into the game in the second half and emergency loan signing Josef Bursik produced two brilliant saves to repel any Black Cats pressure. Appleton was pleased with the resilience that his side showed in the second half, with Sunderland enjoying more possession.
The two sides finished level on points in the league but Lincoln failed to beat the Black Cats in three meetings, losing and drawing in the league and losing on penalties in the Papa John's Trophy. From Lincoln's perspective, this was the perfect occasion, as they welcomed back fans to their home ground, to end a three-match run without success in the process. While The Imps have now kept two clean sheets in a row, Sunderland can take encouragement from six goals Lincoln conceded during their most recent two away fixtures.
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Sunderland meet Lincoln having never lost a home match in the play-offs previously (W4, D1) However, just one of their last five results would potentially see them progress in this tie (2-0 vs Sheffield Utd in 1997/98). On the other hand, Lincoln lost their last away match of the regular league season, but the Imps haven’t lost consecutive away games in all competitions since a run of three in February 2020. This is Lincoln’s third away game against Sunderland this season – their other two visits have both finished 1-1 (February in the EFL Trophy and March in League One).
Another draw could be a possibility here, but we stick to our initial expectations that a match would be a tight, low-scoring affair.
BettingKick’s Sunderland vs Lincoln prediction is: Under 2.5 goals
4-2-3-1
4-3-3
Sunderland
Lincoln City
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| 14.12.2024. | Swansea | VS | Sunderland | 2-3 |
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| 29.11.2024. | Sheffield United | VS | Sunderland | 1-0 |
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| 23.11.2024. | Millwall | VS | Sunderland | 1-1 |
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| 06.11.2024. | Preston | VS | Sunderland | 0-0 |
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| 02.11.2024. | QPR | VS | Sunderland | 0-0 |
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| 23.10.2024. | Luton Town | VS | Sunderland | 1-2 |
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| 20.10.2024. | Hull City | VS | Sunderland | 0-1 |
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| 28.09.2024. | Watford | VS | Sunderland | 2-1 |
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| 14.09.2024. | Plymouth Argyle | VS | Sunderland | 3-2 |
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| 31.08.2024. | Portsmouth | VS | Sunderland | 1-3 |
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| 14.12.2024. | Huddersfield | VS | Lincoln City | 2-2 |
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| 07.12.2024. | Lincoln City | VS | Charlton Athletic | 0-0 |
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| 03.12.2024. | Rotherham | VS | Lincoln City | 2-1 |
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| 30.11.2024. | Crawley Town | VS | Lincoln City | 3-4 |
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| 26.11.2024. | Wrexham | VS | Lincoln City | 1-0 |
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| 23.11.2024. | Lincoln City | VS | Wycombe | 2-3 |
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| 16.11.2024. | Exeter City | VS | Lincoln City | 0-0 |
D
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| 09.11.2024. | Bristol Rovers | VS | Lincoln City | 1-1 |
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| 04.11.2024. | Chesham United | VS | Lincoln City | 0-4 |
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| 29.10.2024. | Lincoln City | VS | Northampton Town | 2-1 |
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| 07.12.2024. | Lincoln City | VS | Charlton Athletic | 0-0 |
D
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| 23.11.2024. | Lincoln City | VS | Wycombe | 2-3 |
L
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| 29.10.2024. | Lincoln City | VS | Northampton Town | 2-1 |
W
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| 26.10.2024. | Lincoln City | VS | Stockport County | 2-1 |
W
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| 19.10.2024. | Lincoln City | VS | Birmingham | 1-3 |
L
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| 27.04.2024. | Lincoln City | VS | Portsmouth | 0-2 |
L
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| 05.10.2021. | Lincoln City | VS | Sunderland | 1-2 |
L
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| 02.10.2021. | Lincoln City | VS | Plymouth Argyle | 2-2 |
D
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| 18.09.2021. | Lincoln City | VS | Ipswich Town | 0-1 |
L
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| 14.09.2021. | Lincoln City | VS | Rotherham | 1-1 |
D
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| 14.12.2024. | Huddersfield | VS | Lincoln City | 2-2 |
D
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| 03.12.2024. | Rotherham | VS | Lincoln City | 2-1 |
L
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| 30.11.2024. | Crawley Town | VS | Lincoln City | 3-4 |
W
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| 26.11.2024. | Wrexham | VS | Lincoln City | 1-0 |
L
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| 16.11.2024. | Exeter City | VS | Lincoln City | 0-0 |
D
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| 09.11.2024. | Bristol Rovers | VS | Lincoln City | 1-1 |
D
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| 04.11.2024. | Chesham United | VS | Lincoln City | 0-4 |
W
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| 22.10.2024. | Crawley Town | VS | Lincoln City | 3-0 |
L
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| 16.04.2024. | Oxford United | VS | Lincoln City | 0-1 |
W
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| 09.10.2021. | Wigan Athletic | VS | Lincoln City | 1-2 |
W
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Tucker grew up in London, more precisely in West London. But, unlike many locals, he doesn’t like big and famous teams from that part of the city. Instead, ever since he was a kid, Tucker was passionate for lower divisions. This passion was born when his uncle from Reading took him to the local derby with Aldershot Town when he was 6 and since that moment football was running through his veins. He became a huge fan of the Royals for life, and whenever he could, he goes to Madejski Stadium to enjoy the game. Apart from being a job, his sports knowledge also becomes more than useful when he is betting live on high stakes which is also his passion.
