Forest Green Rovers will look to stretch their lead at the top of the League Two table on Tuesday, when they welcome a Mansfield Town side who have won their last six games in the fourth tier.
Rob Edwards's men currently sit seven points clear of second-placed Tranmere Rovers, while their visitors have climbed into the playoff spots thanks to their eye-catching run.
Match preview
© Reuters
After missing out on promotion in the playoffs last season, Forest Green have taken a huge step towards a climb to the third tier so far this campaign, topping the table at the halfway point.
From their opening 24 games, Rob Edwards's side have earned 15 victories and suffered just two defeats, amassing an eye-catching tally of 52 points as a result, leaving them seven points ahead of Tranmere Rovers in second place and 12 points clear of the playoff spots.
Rovers now head into Tuesday on a run of 13 league outings without a loss, winning eight of those, but they were forced to settle for a draw last time out.
Following a home win over Colchester United, Edwards's side travelled to take on Northampton Town, and Mathew Stevens looked to have made the difference in the second half, only for Mitchell Pinnock to equalise for the hosts in the 95th minute, forcing the league leaders to settle for a point.
Nonetheless, Rovers' position at the summit is strong, and they will look to continue a fine run of form to further boost their claim for automatic promotion and the league title this term.
© Reuters
They face a tough test, though, as Mansfield arrive looking to extend a six-game winning run in League Two.
Under the management of Nigel Clough, the Stags had a relatively slow start to the campaign, earning 11 points from the opening 14 outings, before they managed to turn their form around starting in October.
The Nottinghamshire side first arrested a slump with consecutive wins over Tranmere Rovers, Stevenage and Scunthorpe United before they were briefly halted by a defeat to Sutton United.
Clough's men bounced back impressively, though, firstly grinding out narrow wins over Crawley Town, Carlisle United and Salford City, before they made it five on the bounce with 3-2 wins against Hartlepool United and Swindon Town on home soil.
They then made it six straight wins on Saturday, defeating Walsall 2-0 at Field Mill thanks to Harry Charsley's second-half brace off the bench.
As a result of their eye-catching form, the Stags have now climbed into the playoff spots, sitting in seventh place with 38 points, and they will be desperate to continue their form to hold onto their spot in the race for promotion.
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Forest Green Rovers will again enter the game without midfielder Elliott Whitehouse, who continues to battle through an injury.
Edwards has rarely made changes to his side recently, with the back three of Dom Bernard, Jordan Moore-Taylor and Udoka Godwin-Malife set to again line up in front of goalkeeper Luke McGee.
Similarly, the attacking trio of Jack Aitchison, Jamille Matt and Matt Stevens has generally remained constant and should again be deployed on Tuesday.
Mansfield also have little reason to change around their squad, and Clough may come in with the same XI that defeated Walsall on Saturday.
However, Harry Charsley staked his claim for a starting spot with the winning brace off the bench and could be given a chance at the New Lawn.
John-Joe O'Toole was able to return to the midfield diamond last time out after previously filling in for the absent Farrend Rawson at centre-back.
Forest Green Rovers possible starting lineup:
McGee; Bernard, Moore-Taylor, Godwin-Malife; Wilson, Stevenson, Sweeney, Cadden; Aitchson; Matt, Stevens
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Bishop; Hewitt, Rawson, Hawkins, McLaughlin; O'Toole; Quinn, Charsley; Maris; Oates, Bowery
We say: Forest Green Rovers 1-1 Mansfield Town
With two of the league's form teams squaring off, something may give, but we see both sides standing strong to earn a result and share the spoils.
Given their respective situations, both may be pleased with a point as they look to avoid the opponent stretching their impressive form.
Top tip
Sam Varley
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.
