Mansfield Town will be bidding to strengthen their grip on a playoff spot in League Two when they welcome lowly Stevenage to Field Mill on Tuesday night.
The home side are currently sixth in the table, two points ahead of seventh-placed Sutton United, while Stevenage sit 22nd, seven points clear of 23rd-placed Oldham Athletic.
Match preview
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Mansfield will enter Tuesday's contest off the back of a 2-0 win over Crawley Town on Saturday, with James Murphy and Lucas Akins on the scoresheet in Nottinghamshire, and the result has left them in sixth spot in the table, boasting 72 points from their 43 matches.
Nigel Clough's side are two points clear of seventh-placed Sutton United, while there are only four points between sixth and 10th in the fourth tier, so the playoff race is likely to go right to the wire.
Mansfield have a tough end to the season on paper, taking on Salford City and Forest Green Rovers in their final two matches, and it would be a huge disappointment if they missed out on the top six at this stage.
The Stags have been in League Two since 2013, and they have never played in League One, which is an indication of their achievements thus far, and much of their success has been built on a strong home record, picking up 45 points from their 21 matches in front of their own supporters.
Mansfield have also won their last two matches against Stevenage, including a 2-1 victory in the reverse match between the two sides earlier this season, while they are unbeaten against Tuesday's opponents since April 2019.
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Stevenage, meanwhile, will enter Tuesday's clash off the back of a 2-0 win over Tranmere Rovers on Saturday, which made it four games unbeaten in the fourth tier of English football.
Steve Evans's side have overcome Colchester United, Rochdale and Tranmere, in addition to drawing with Scunthorpe United, since losing at home to Oldham Athletic at the start of the month.
Stevenage are currently 22nd in the table, seven points clear of 23rd-placed Oldham, while they have a game in hand on the team directly below them, so safety at this level has already been secured.
The Boro have struggled for consistency at home this season, picking up just 30 points from 22 matches, while they have struggled on their travels, collecting only 14 points from 21 games, but their recent form should mean that confidence is high ahead of this contest.
Evans's side now have back-to-back away matches against Mansfield and Carlisle United before finishing their campaign at home to Salford, and they will be looking to finish above Barrow in 21st.
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Team News
Mansfield welcomed leading goalscorer Rhys Oates back into their starting side against Crawley, with the striker overcoming a thigh problem, and he will again lead the line for the hosts here.
John-Joe O'Toole and George Maris should also keep their spots in the side, with Oli Hawkins, Jordan Bowery and Ryan Stirk likely to miss out on positions in the first XI.
The home side did not suffer any injury issues against Crawley, so it would not be a surprise to see the same team take to the field for the second successive match.
As for Stevenage, Arthur Read should retain his spot in the side ahead of Chris Lines, and the visitors also did not suffer any fitness issues in the clash with Tranmere.
As a result, the same XI could take to the field on Tuesday, with Luke Norris, who netted a brace last time out, leading the attack once again.
Head coach Evans is set to stick with the 4-3-3 formation that impressed on Saturday, with Jamie Reid and Elliott List featuring in the wide positions for the visitors.
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Bishop; Hewitt, O'Toole, Perch, McLaughlin; Longstaff, Maris, Quinn; Murphy; Akins, Oates
Stevenage possible starting lineup:
Pym; James-Wildin, Cuthbert, Vancooten, Coker; Taylor, Bostwick, Read; Reid, Norris, List
We say: Mansfield Town 2-0 Stevenage
Mansfield are in need of the points, as they look to hold onto a playoff spot, and we are expecting the home side to triumph on Tuesday night. The pressure is off Stevenage, which should help the hosts, and we are predicting a two-goal success for Clough's team.
Top tip
Matt Law
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Mansfield Town win with a probability of 50.82%. A draw had a probability of 25.5% and a win for Stevenage had a probability of 23.72%.
The most likely scoreline for a Mansfield Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.36%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.62%) and 2-1 (9.39%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.07%), while for a Stevenage win it was 0-1 (7.76%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Mansfield Town in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Mansfield Town.
