It's a case of five defeats in a row at home to eleven defeats in twelve, it almost feels like one of those games that will either be a 0-0 bore draw, or an all time classic full of attacking flair, take a wild guess which is more likely.

City fans are mainly disillusioned at the moment after all the hype during summer. Peter Jackson has built up hopes at Sincil Bank that we could win promotion but the first four games have certainly dented hopes. We've done pretty much everything in the opening four games, we've played well, played badly, dominated and be dominated, but we've never looked like putting the ball in the net.

The news that Adrian Patulea could be on his way to Sincil Bank soon has suddenly re-invigourated my optimism slightly. He looked to be an excellent player in the pre-season and if he does join then it will a positive move for our club. It will be nice to have a striker who actually looks dangerous as the current crop seriously aren't pulling their weight.

There is also a bit of history repeating for those of you less informed. In the 2003/4 season, Peter Jackson was the manager at Huddersfield Town and they hadn't won until a game against Bristol Rovers on August 30th and they had also faced Derby County in the Carling Cup in their second game of their season. I know most of you will say that I'm clutching at straws with that, but if Peter Jackson already shown that he has coped successfully with a bad start in this division before. For the record, Huddersfield won that game against Bristol Rovers, exactly four years to the day that this year's game will be played.

It is unlikely that Adrian Patulea will play a starting role on Saturday if he does sign on time. He would more than likely start on the bench and that would leave Peter Jackson with choosing two from three up front. Kevin Gall's place is most under threat, I have no doubt that he'll run around all day long, but whether he will score is a different matter all together and I think that it's time that David Graham was given a start up front. It is likely that whoever starts will partner Ben Wright up front, although he is also under pressure to start performing.

Rob Burch has put in three impressive performances on the road and will hope not to put in a similar performance to the one that near enough gifted three points to Dagenham two weeks ago. Paul Green, Janos Kovacs and Aaron Brown are the virtual guaranteed starters in the defence and the final place will go to either Frank Sinclair or Lee Beevers. Frank is by far the better defender (not saying much) and if fit then he will almost certainly be the starter.

Stefan Oakes could return and the only question if which of the underachieving underperformers he replaces. N'Guessan and Frecklington have failed to live up to expectations for quite some time. Then again, Oakes could replace Kerr after the Imps captain went off injured at Wycombe. The only player who seems almost certain to start in the midfield is LJL.

Grimsby Town's last win came in a 2-1 win at Mansfield on March 22nd. They subsequently lost their final eight games of the 2007/8 season. That form continued into this season and they've lost two of their three League games and the pressure is certainly on Alan Buckley as he seems to be leading Grimsby into yet another relegation battle.

Buckley appears to be losing popularity at Blundell Park extremely quickly, several Grimsby fans on The Football Forum stating that they hope that the Imps thrash them on Saturday, allowing John Fenty to see that the Mariners can't progress under the former Imps manager.

UpTheMariners posted : "It comes to a sad state of affairs when i actually slightly want us to lose to Lincoln...but not just lose....i mean lose in such a spectacular fashion that Fenty actaully wakes up and gets rid of Buckley, just like the 6-0 game to Oldham a few years back - everybody knew that night that Groves had to be sacked the morning after and he was!"

Ska Face post : "The club is run so poorly in every single department, it's hard to see the slightest glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Those at the top are so out of touch with the general feeling amongst the fans it's untrue. In a way I feel for Fenty, it's clear to see he's put a lot into the club in terms of finance, time and effort. But when it comes to the big decisions, his arse goes and he sinks back in his chair, rubbing his furrowed brow and fiddling with his GTFC tie.

Much in the same way that town fans would be willing to see the team lose if we were willing to go out and attack, people would be much more forgiving of Fenty if he took a gamble and failed, rather than taking a cheap, easy option time after time and seeing the club stagnate."

Neither side go into the game with a lot of confidence and a win is a must for both sides, but this game appears to be heading in a certain way that could be the case for neither.

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