Lincoln boss Michael Appleton delivers verdict on Sunderland and Alex Neil - plus Imps team news with Arsenal loanee available

Sunderland have lost just one of their seven games under Neil and scored late goals in their wins over Fleetwood and Crewe.

Still, the Black Cats are facing a battle to finish in the play-offs, while some of the teams around them have the advantage of games in hand.

Lincoln, who beat Sunderland in the play-offs last season, may be 18th in the League One table but won 3-1 at the Stadium of Light in January – courtesy of a Chris Maguire hat-trick.

The Imps also beat play-off contenders Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 in their last home fixture, and were narrowly beaten 2-1 at league leaders Rotherham on Tuesday night.

“It’s a great game and everyone’s looking forward to it,” said Appleton when asked about Sunderland.

“From an atmosphere point of view, it will be like that Sheffield Wednesday game.

“They’ll bring a lot of fans down from the North East and they’ve got a newish manager in Alex. They massively need to points to keep themselves in the play-off positions.

“We’ve got to dust ourselves down and try and reproduce something similar to the second half (against Rotherham). If we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”

On the Black Cats’ recent form, Appleton added: “They’ve showed really good character over the last five or six games, they win games late on.

“After that 65-70-minute, they’ve started to score regularly. They’ve been behind in a few games, so they’ve obviously got a good spirit.”

Lincoln are hoping key defender Regan Poole will be available for the match after the right-back suffered a knock on his ankle against AFC Wimbledon last weekend.

“Regan is a doubt for Saturday but, knowing how he’s recovered in the past, you never know. I’d say his chances are 60/40 against playing,” said Appleton.

Midfielder Conor McGrandles could return following a two-match suspension, while Arsenal loanee Brooke Norton-Cuffy is available after an appeal against his red card at Wimbledon was successful.

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