Two sides that are vying for promotion out of League Two meet at Edgeley Park on Saturday afternoon as Stockport are set to host Mansfield Town.
The home side are currently occupying 5th place in the League Two table, having picked up 59 points from their 36 league games so far this campaign. Automatic promotion is not out of the picture just yet as the Hatters are just five points behind third place.
Stockport come into this game on the back of an impressive run of form that has seen them only record one defeat in their last ten league games. This run has included impressive victories over the likes of Stevenage and Tranmere.
Last time out, Dave Challinor’s side made the trip to The Jobserve Community Stadium to face Colchester United. The away side dominated most of the game's chances and prevented Colchester from recording a shot on target. The defining moment of the game came in the 37th minute when Kyle Wooten scored the only goal of the game.
Mansfield find themselves just outside of the playoff places in 8th place and are just one point behind Salford in 7th place. Crucially, The Stags have at least one game in hand over every team above them in the league, meaning their future is fully in their control.
Since the end of January, Nigel Clough’s side have shown some impressive form, gaining five victories in eight league games. This run included an impressive 4-0 victory over fellow promotion chasers Carlisle in arguably their most impressive display of the season.
However, The Stags have lost two of their last three outings in the league. Salford City breezed past Mansfield in a 5-2 thrashing and last time out Northampton came out on top of a tight affair 1-0. Mansfield’s season is dependent on whether this is just a blip in form or will lead to an extended period of poor results.
The home side have a good home record against Mansfield and are unbeaten at home against The Stags since 1993. This run has included four victories for Stockport and one draw, with their last victory coming in April 2008.
Mansfield came out on top of a tight affair when these sides met in the reverse fixture at the beginning of the campaign. Stockport midfielder Antoni Sarcevic smashed an unstoppable effort into the top corner to give the Hatters a 53rd-minute advantage. But a quick-fire double from Will Swan and skipper Ollie Clarke earned a home win for Mansfield.
It is the home side who are favored at the bookies ahead of this weekend’s match-up @ evens, whilst an away victory for The Stags is currently priced @ 13/5. BTTS is priced @ ⅘. We are backing Kyle Wooten to score and win.
Kyle Wooten is the Hatters’ joint top scorer so far this campaign, having netted on 12 occasions and he comes into this game with high confidence, having scored the only goal of the game against Colchester last time out.
