The Sky Blues are back in action this weekend, as they entertain Scunthorpe United at the Ricoh Arena.
Opposition:
Today's visitors head into the new season looking to go one further then they have done in the previous three season's in League One.
Having narrowly missed out on the play-offs three years ago and in the last two season's falling short in the play-offs, The Iron will be hoping for a change of fortune.
With new manager Nick Daws entering his first full season in management, he has been busy in the transfer window leading up to the game.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, James Perch, Matthew Lund and George Thomas have all joined over the past week, as they look to rebuild a side which saw many departures during the summer.
Last Time We Met:
It will be the first encounter between the Sky Blues and Scunthorpe United, since the final day of the 2016/17 League One season.
Mark Robins side travelled to Glanford Park a few weeks after securing the Checkatrade Trophy at Wembley, after defeating Oxford United 2-1.
The Iron had just missed out on automatic promotion the week before and had to settle for a place in the play-off places.
The hosts came out 3-1 winners on the day with goals coming from Kevin Van Veen, Neal Bishop, Hakeeb Adelakun and Vladimir Gadzhev scoring for the Sky Blues.
Mark Robins: “Nick is a good friend of mine, I’ve played with him and I brought him in at Scunthorpe and he has been waiting for an opportunity to manage and he’s got that now and he will be looking forward to having a good start to the season.
“They’ve got some good players, what they do remains to be seen. What they’ve done in pre-season might not be what they do tomorrow the first game.
“Something completely different can happen. They’re a team that has finished in the play offs in the last two years so it’s a good test for us early on.”
Nick Daws: “It’s good to start at the Ricoh Arena against a side who have just been promoted and with a decent crowd I’d imagine. It’s a good environment for the players to test themselves in. They’ve recruited well in the summer and it’ll be interesting to see how the two sides match up.
“Any team that gets promoted comes into the season with momentum, and though they’ve had injuries over the summer, I know Mark will have them prepared. It will be a test of the work we’ve done this summer and of our ability."
Form:
With pre-season now coming to an end, we take a look back at how The Iron fared leading up to the start of the Sky Bet League One season.
Won - Winterton Rangers 1-8 Scunthorpe United
Draw - SV Seekirchen 0-0 Scunthorpe United
Won - SV Wals-Grunau 0-3 Scunthorpe United
Lost - Scunthorpe United 0-1 Nottingham Forest
Lost - Scunthorpe United 0-1 Lincoln City
Head to Head:
Sky Blues (W): 5
Draw: 4
Scunthorpe United (W): 9
SkyBet Odds:
The Sky Blues head into the game as 11/8 favourites, with the visitors 21/10 and the draw available at 11/5.
In the first goalscorer market, Max Biamou is available at 5/1, whilst Jonson Clarke-Harris, Jordan Ponticelli, Josh Morris and Lee Novak are behind at 6/1.
All odds are subject to change, for further odds on other markets click here.
Officials:
Antony Coggins will be the man in the middle against The Iron at the Ricoh Arena Saturday afternoon.
Coggins officiated in 34 games during the 2017/18 campaign giving a total of 87 yellow cards and six red cards.
It will be the first time that Coggins has refereed a City game since the Sky Blues 6-1 away win against Cheltenham Town back in April.
He will be assisted by Ian Dudley and Andrew Hendley, while Declan Bourne will act as fourth official.