The Imps are looking for points at home to Sunderland this afternoon in order to take themselves as far away from the relegation zone as possible; they sit 18th.
The Black Cats, on the other hand, need points for reasons of their own as they look to secure a playoff spot by the end of the season.
And Appleton is wary of the challenge that Alex Neil’s side could pose in front of them given their history of staging comebacks or scoring late goals.
“What I would say is that there is definitely a resilience there”, Appleton told his club’s official site.
“I think they’ve scored a lot of goals in the latter stages of games, if they’ve been behind or the game has been close then they’ve gone on to win the game.”
The Lincoln boss is wary of the danger that Sunderland can pose with their attacking players and is keen for his men to be aware of the threat.
“Whether it’s a three or a four, they’ve changed at times, so we’re mindful of that and the threats that they have got.
“They’ve got some fantastic players in their forward areas and obviously one that’s very dangerous in Ross Stewart who is the division’s top scorer.”
Lincoln have only won five times at home this season, in 19 league games, while Sunderland have won six times on the road.
