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Forest Green Rovers
League Two | Gameweek 22
Apr 5, 2022 at 7.45pm UK
 
Mansfield Town

Forest Green
1 - 0
Mansfield

March (14')
Matt (39'), Wilson (79'), Adams (84')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Hawkins (11'), Wallace (38'), Hewitt (90')
Lapslie (49')

Preview: Forest Green Rovers vs. Mansfield Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's League Two clash between Forest Green Rovers and Mansfield Town, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Forest Green Rovers are closing in on promotion, and they could move a step closer to that goal when they play host to Mansfield Town on Tuesday.

The Stags, meanwhile, are also dreaming of automatic promotion, with goal difference leaving them outside the top three.


Match preview

Forest Green Rovers manager Rob Edwards celebrates after the match on March 20, 2022© Reuters

Forest Green enjoy a nine-point gap over fourth-placed Northampton Town, and with Rovers still to play eight matches, it seems that it is a case of when, not if, they earn promotion to League One.

They did show signs of faltering when they endured a seven-match winless run across February and March, but a 1-0 win over Colchester United got their campaign back on track.

With confidence restored, Rovers picked up another 1-0 victory at the weekend, with a 75th-minute Dan Sweeney strike ensuring that Forest Green took home three points from their clash with Scunthorpe United.

The weekend shutout means that Rob Edwards's side have now kept 10 clean sheets in their 19 home league matches this term, and a solid defence has proven to be the backbone of Forest Green's promotion bid.

In fact, Tuesday's hosts have the best defensive record in League Two after shipping just 32 goals in 38 league matches this term.

Mansfield Town manager Nigel Clough pictured on December 2, 2020© Reuters

Mansfield may sit in sixth position, but they are one of four teams who have accumulated 66 points and among those sides are Port Vale, who occupy the third and final promotion spot.

The Stags do, however, possess one game in hand over Port Vale, while they enjoy the advantage of having two matches in hand over the other teams in the playoff places.

Although they will be eyeing a top-three place, Mansfield must remain vigilant of those chasing from behind, with eighth-placed Newport County just three points adrift of the Stags.

A four-game unbeaten run does suggest that Mansfield's promotion bid is gaining momentum, with three of those four matches resulting in victory.

The latest of those wins came at the weekend, when an Oliver Hawkins goal helped the Stags edge out Northampton Town, and they will be aiming to make it back-to-back victories when they face the league leaders on Tuesday.

Forest Green Rovers League Two form:
  • D
  • D
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • W

Mansfield Town League Two form:
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • W



Team News

Forest Green Rovers' Mathew Stevens celebrates scoring their first goal with teammate on March 21, 2022© Reuters

The hosts are could be without Matthew Stevens, who was forced off after 15 minutes at the weekend due to injury.

If Stevens is unable to feature then he could be replaced in the starting lineup by Josh March.

After scoring his first Forest Green goal on Saturday, Sweeney will head into the midweek encounter in buoyant mood, but his main priority on Tuesday will be to stop the Mansfield forward line when he lines up in a back three alongside Jordan Moore-Taylor and Baily Cargill.

As for the Stags, Jamie Murphy is a doubt due to a hamstring problem, while Kellan Gordon is a long-term injury absentee.

Ollie Clarke, meanwhile, has missed the last four matches due a groin problem, and he could remain sidelined for Tuesday's contest.

After winning at the weekend, Mansfield could name an unchanged lineup for the midweek encounter as they close in on automatic promotion place.

Forest Green Rovers possible starting lineup:
McGee; Sweeney, Moore-Taylor, Cargill; Wilson, Stevenson, Aitchison, Adams, Cadden; Matt, Stevens

Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Bishop; Hewitt, O'Toole, Hawkins, McLaughlin; Longstaff, Stirk, Quinn, Lapslie; Oates, Akins


SM words green background

We say: Forest Green Rovers 1-1 Mansfield Town

Mansfield will know that it will be a tough ask to pick up three points on Saturday, as Forest Green have lost just five of their 38 league games this season, but we think that the Stags will do enough to take a point from Tuesday's contest.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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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 Forest Green Rovers win with a probability of 55.87%. A draw had a probability of 25% and a win for Mansfield Town had a probability of 19.15%.

The most likely scoreline for a Forest Green Rovers win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.38%) and 2-1 (9.34%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.66%), while for a Mansfield Town win it was 0-1 (7.29%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 14.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Forest Green Rovers in this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Forest Green vs Mansfield

Forest Green Rovers
40.0%
Draw
24.0%
Mansfield Town
36.0%
75
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