Mansfield Town will be looking to continue their League Two promotion charge when they host Leyton Orient at the One Call Stadium on Tuesday night.
The hosts are currently in eighth place, outside the playoffs on goal difference, while the visitors have already secured promotion as champions.
Match preview
© Reuters
Mansfield are currently outside the top seven, but they have a game in hand on the vast majority of the teams above them, meaning a push for automatic promotion is not off the cards if they have a very strong finish to the season.
The Stags have picked up 72 points in 43 games, meaning they are four points behind third-placed Stevenage, who are also in action on Tuesday night, taking on Swindon Town away from home.
Nigel Clough's side have collected the majority of their points away from home this season, and they have too often been held against weaker opposition at the One Call Stadium, playing out draws against Rochdale and Sutton in recent times.
It is difficult to be too critical of Mansfield's recent form, however, considering they are unbeaten in their last nine League Two games, winning four out of their last six, the most vital of which came at the weekend.
The Stags eked out a 1-0 victory against promotion rivals Stevenage at the weekend, putting themselves in a great position to at least finish inside the playoffs, but they face very tough opposition on Tuesday night.
Indeed, Leyton Orient have been feared opponents in League Two this season, picking up 87 points from 43 games, meaning they have already been promoted as champions with three games to spare.
After losing 1-0 at Tranmere Rovers back in January, there were some doubts about whether Orient would go on to win the league title, but their form since then has been excellent, losing just one of their last 15 games.
Richie Wellens's side's promotion was confirmed during their 2-0 defeat against Gillingham in their last away match, but they have since responded well, defeating Crewe Alexandra 2-0 at the Breyer Group Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The O's have lost just one of their last seven meetings with Mansfield, recording a 1-0 victory at home in the reverse fixture earlier this season, a record that bodes very well heading into Tuesday's encounter.
Team News
© Reuters
Mansfield have been struck with a number of injury issues in recent weeks, with striker Will Swan being ruled out for the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury, while midfielder Louis Reed only returned to the squad at the weekend, having been out since February.
Reed did not manage to get any minutes against Stevenage, meaning Hiram Boateng, Stephen Quinn and Kieran Wallace should keep their places in the centre of midfield, in a 4-3-3 system.
Lukas Akins has been the Stags' main attacking threat this season with eight goals and six assists to his name in League Two, and he is expected to lead the line once again.
As for Orient, Charlie Kelman could be brought in at striker, having scored after being brought on as a substitute last time out, taking the place of Ruel Sotiriou, who is now without a goal in his last three games.
The O's have already wrapped up the league title, so Wellens could give some minutes to players who have not regularly featured in the starting lineup, with Jordan Brown coming into the midfield.
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Pym; Johnson, Kilgour, Perch, Hewitt; Boateng, Wallace, Quinn; Oates, Keillor-Dunn, Akins
Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Vigoroux; Hunt, Turns, McCart, Sweeney; Pratley, Brown, Smyth, Moncur, Sadlier; Kelman
We say: Mansfield Town 1-0 Leyton Orient
With Leyton Orient already confirmed as champions, Tuesday's game means far more to Mansfield, who will be throwing everything at it to keep their promotion dreams alive.
The Stags displayed they have what it takes to win crucial games with their 1-0 victory against Stevenage at the weekend, and we expect to see a similar result.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
