Aiming to stretch their advantage of the head of the League Two table, league leaders Mansfield Town will welcome playoff hopefuls MK Dons to One Call Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Stags were narrow winners at Newport County on Saturday afternoon, whilst the Dons were last-minute losers against arch rivals AFC Wimbledon.
Match preview
© Reuters
After a highly-disappointing 2-1 loss at a resurgent Walsall side on February 17, Mansfield Town have got their promotion-chasing train back on track with back-to-back successes over Salford City and Newport County over the past fortnight, netting six goals in the process.
Five of those strikes arrived at the One Call Stadium against Karl Robinson's Salford on February 24, but the Stags managed one decisive goal across in Wales on the weekend, when George Maris's ninth of the league campaign was enough to beat midtable dwellers Newport.
A run of one win in their first five League One fixture of the new calendar year threatened to derail their automatic-promotion dreams, but five victories in the last six have allowed Nigel Clough's men to remain top of the league standings, three points ahead of second-placed Stockport County.
Surprisingly for the side leading the pack in the fourth tier, Mansfield only have the sixth-best home record in the division with 33 points from 16 matches at the One Call Stadium, although the Stags' recent form in front of their home faithful is electrifying, winning three-straight contests by an aggregate score of 15-3.
After finding the net on six occasions in League Two last term, Davis Keillor-Dunn has moved into a new goalscoring gear within a side who are seriously pushing for the third tier - the 26-year-old has scored 17 goals and provided seven assists in 34 fourth-tier appearances.
© Reuters
MK Dons' late assault on the top-three positions has taken a massive hit following the dramatic 1-0 defeat to AFC Wimbledon at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Saturday afternoon, when a 94th-minute goal from substitute Ronan Curtis was enough to earn maximum points for the hosts.
Speaking after the heartbreaking defeat to their main rivals, Dons attacker Alex Gilbey stated that they are still in a better position for promotion compared to Johnnie Jackson's side, and that cannot be argued, with Tuesday's visitors currently fifth in the League Two standings, five points ahead of eighth-placed Barrow.
Looking to boost their chances of securing a return to League One at the first attempt following relegation last campaign, Mike Williamson's side recruited Dan Kemp on loan from Swindon Town for the remainder of the season, with the striker scoring three times so far in Buckinghamshire after netting 14 league goals for his parent club in the first half of the term.
The Dons were defeated during their first-ever meeting with Mansfield in August 2006 but have collected at least a point from five-straight matches against the Stags since, with a David Wheeler goal sealing a 1-0 win during their most-recent contest in May 2019 as MK pipped their opponents to automatic promotion on the final day.
Team News
© Reuters
After providing the game-winning assist on Saturday afternoon at Newport, 28-year-old Baily Cargill should keep his spot in the Mansfield backline.
The Englishman will be joined by a centre-back pairing of Lewis Brunt and former Bristol City man Aden Flint in the defence, with the Stags keeping a first clean sheet in four matches on the weekend.
Leading marksman Keillor-Dunn will continue to lead the line, but the spot as his partner is up for grabs, with Tom Nicholls battling Lucas Akins for a starting berth.
Failing to find the back of the net at Wimbledon could result in some attacking changes for MK Dons on Tuesday, with Stoke City loanee Emre Tezgel pushing for his second League Two start.
Ellis Harrison is another offensive player who is targeting a promotion from the bench, although the ex-Port Vale is currently playing second fiddle to the likes of Kemp and Stephen Wearne.
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Pym; Williams, Flint, Brunt, Cargill; Clarke, Reed, Boateng, Maris; Akins, Keillor-Dunn
MK Dons possible starting lineup:
Kelly; Norman, O'Hora, Harvie; Lofthouse, Payne, Bate, Tomlinson; Kemp, Gilbey, Wearne
We say: Mansfield Town 3-1 MK Dons
Mansfield are in sensational form at the One Call Stadium of late and should be very confident of extending their winning run at the venue to four matches.
MK Dons will still be reeling from their last-gasp loss at Wimbledon on the weekend, and a trip to the league leaders is not the ideal opportunity to bounce back.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
