A key battle at the top end of the League One table will take place at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday, as Wrexham welcome Mansfield Town.
The newly-promoted sides currently sit third and fourth respectively with just a point separating them.
Match preview
© Imago
Wrexham return to action on Saturday aiming to bounce back to winning ways, having recently dropped out of the League One automatic promotion spots and suffered a disappointing FA Cup defeat.
Following their back-to-back promotions under the management of Phil Parkinson, the Welsh outfit have enjoyed a seamless transition to life in England's third tier, establishing themselves in the leading pack by earning 25 points from their first 13 league outings.
That is in no small part down to a near-perfect home record, having won five and drawn one of their six games at the Racecourse Ground, most recently being held to a goalless stalemate by fellow promotion-chasers Huddersfield Town in October.
A tough trip to Charlton Athletic then followed, and Parkinson's men took another creditable point from a 2-2 draw, albeit in disappointing fashion as Macaulay Gillesphey drew the hosts level in the 97th minute, before the Red Dragons most recently visited fourth-tier Harrogate Town in the FA Cup first round last weekend and dropped out following a 1-0 defeat.
Now with their focus back on the league campaign, Wrexham sit third with a four-point gap up to second-placed Birmingham City and leaders Wycombe Wanderers, and they will bid to further strengthen their position in the promotion fight with an eighth third-tier victory of the campaign on Saturday.
© Imago
Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip to Wales aiming to leapfrog their hosts and narrow their own gap to the top two.
After also winning promotion from League Two last time around, Mansfield Town have enjoyed a similarly strong start to the new term, amassing 24 points from their first 12 outings having picked up seven victories alongside just two defeats.
The most recent of those losses came at home to Stevenage in mid-October, and the Stags have since bounced back in style, prevailing in a 2-1 win away at Wigan Athletic and playing out a 1-1 draw with then-leaders Birmingham City in their most recent league outing thanks to Lee Gregory's leveller from a free-kick.
Nigel Clough's side have since stretched a winning streak to three games in all competitions, following that triumph up with a 3-0 EFL Trophy beating of Newcastle United Under-21s before visiting Curzon Ashton in the FA Cup and booking a second-round spot with a 4-0 victory courtesy of goals from Lucas Akins, Stephen Quinn, Ben Waine and Ben Quinn.
With momentum building once again in the Stags camp, Mansfield Town will now bid to break into League One's top three with a victory at the Racecourse, where they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat in League Two in March.
Team News
© Imago
Phil Parkinson should deploy a similar Wrexham starting XI from their last League One game away at Charlton Athletic, with attackers Jack Marriott and Steven Fletcher likely remaining confined to the treatment room.
In their absence, Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin should continue to partner up in attack, having netted a combined tally of 144 goals for the Red Dragons.
Elliot Lee will likely return to the midfield after being reduced to a substitute appearance against Harrogate Town and could displace Oliver Rathbone to join Andy Cannon and George Dobson, while Dan Scarr should come back into the middle of the defence alongside Thomas O'Connor and Max Cleworth.
After rotating for last week's cup tie against Curzon Ashton, Mansfield Town should also revert to a similar starting XI from their draw with Birmingham City last time out in League One, with Lee Gregory bound to return up front having netted seven goals in 11 league appearances this term.
He will partner Will Evans with Aaron Lewis offering further support through the centre, while Keanu Baccus will hope to return alongside George Maris in the engine room.
Jordan Bowery joined Baily Cargill and Adedeji Oshilaja in a back three against Birmingham, but Aden Flint has a claim to keep his place in defence, allowing Bowery to shift back to a wing-back role.
Wrexham possible starting lineup:
Okonkwo; Barnett, Cleworth, Scarr, O'Connor, McClean; Dobson, Lee, Cannon; Mullin, Palmer
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Pym; Flint, Kilgour, Oshilaja; Bowery, Maris, Baccus, McLaughlin; Lewis; Gregory, Evans
We say: Wrexham 2-1 Mansfield Town
With two sides growing in confidence at the top end of League One and boasting plenty of quality, we anticipate a hard-fought and entertaining encounter in Wales on Saturday.
Wrexham prevailed in two of these sides' three meetings last year and drew the other, and we back them to get over the line again at the Racecourse Ground.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
