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Lincoln City and West Ham United will trade tackles in the third round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
The home side are coming into the clash on the back of a 2-1 defeat away to Portsmouth in League One. They took the lead through Hakeeb Adelakun's fifth-minute strike but Paddy Lane equalized within three minutes, while Regan Poole scored the match-winner in first-half injury time.
West Ham United, meanwhile, fell to a 3-1 defeat away to Liverpool. Mohamed Salah put the Reds ahead from the spot in the 16th minute but Jarrod Bowen leveled matters three minutes before halftime. Second-half strikes from Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota helped Jurgen Klopp's side claim all three points.
Lincoln City booked their spot in the third round of the EFL Cup with a penalty-shootout victory over Sheffield United in the last round. West Ham, meanwhile, received a bye to this round because of their European participation.
Lincoln vs West Ham Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two sides have clashed on 23 occasions in the past. West Ham lead 10-7, while six previous games have ended in a share of the spoils.
- This will be their first meeting for over 40 years. The last time they squared off was in November 1982 when West Ham claimed a 2-1 win in the third round of the League Cup to progress with a 3-2 aggregate victory.
- West Ham's seven games in all competitions this season have witnessed goals at both ends, with each of the last six producing at least three goals.
- Lincoln City are winless in their last five games in all competitions in regular time.
- Four of Lincoln City's last five games in all competitions have produced less than three goals.
Lincoln vs West Ham Prediction
West Ham are strong favorites to win this tie against League One opposition. But the Hammers have to be wary of the threat posed by their hosts, with the Imps having already eliminated Premier League opposition in the last round.
The Lincolnshire outfit completed one of the biggest fairytale runs in English cup history when they made it to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup in 2017, becoming the first non-league side to go that far in over 100 years. They have a significantly more impressive pedigree these days but their form heading into this game has not been great.
We are backing West Ham to claim a comfortable win in a high-scoring game.
Prediction: Lincoln City 1-3 West Ham
Lincoln vs West Ham Betting Tips
Tip 1 - West Ham to win
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 4 - West Ham to score over 1.5 goals
