Mansfield host Doncaster Rovers at Field Mill on Saturday afternoon as both teams will be hoping to make a late push for the playoffs.
The hosts currently occupy 9th place in the League Two table, having picked up 39 points from their 26 league games so far this campaign. The Stags are currently only two points behind Bradford, who occupy 7th place in the table and a win this weekend could push Mansfield into the playoff places.
Nigel Clough’s side have slipped down the table as of late, following three successive games without victory and only recording one win in their last six outings. Mansfield have not recorded a win in 2023, following defeats to Walsall, Barrow and a draw against Crewe last time out.
The Stags took the lead against Crewe thanks to George Maris near the end of the first period. Crewe were able to find an equaliser in the 55th minute thanks to a Kelvin Mellor strike. Mansfield’s goalscorer, George Maris recorded a red card in the latter stages of the game and will miss Saturday’s game through suspension.
Doncaster find themselves in 12th position in the table, on 37 points, following 11 wins, 4 draws and ten defeats from their 25 league games. A win this weekend could see Rovers leapfrog their opposition in the table and come within touching distance of the playoff places.
Rovers have been recording some impressive results as of late, having won three of their last five outings. Doncaster have recorded wins against Carlsile, Newport and Rochdale, whilst scoring seven times in the process.
Last time out, Danny Schofield’s side put on a resilient defensive display as they were narrowly defeated by league leaders Leyton Orient. Doncaster recorded more shots (9) than Orient and looked a threat going forward, however it was the league leaders who scored the only goal in the game in the 68th minute.
Doncaster will be able to take many positives from the game as they managed to challenge the O’s throughout 90 minutes, a feat that many other sides have failed to do this campaign.
The last time that Doncaster played a competitive game came on the 7th of January because of a combination of bad weather and their opposition being unable to play because of cup games. It is yet to be determined whether the Doncaster players will look rusty following their break or come back looking energised.
Mansfield have won the last two meetings between these sides. However prior to that, it was Doncaster who had the superior record in this fixture in recent years. Doncaster have won five of the last nine encounters and have only lost on the two occasions.
Mansfield comfortably defeated Doncaster when these sides met in the reverse fixture at the beginning of this campaign. Despite the sides going into the break level, second half goals from George Maris and Lucas Akins sealed a comfortable victory for the Stags, who recorded their first league victory over Doncaster since 1998.
Mansfield are heavily favoured ahead of this clash @ 8/11, whilst a surprise away victory for Doncaster is currently priced @ 7/2. We are backing Doncaster to win and both teams to score because of their superior form in the league heading into this tie.