As the race for promotion heats up in League One, Charlton Athletic are set to travel to face Mansfield Town at One Call Stadium on Tuesday.
The Stags will be looking for their third win on the bounce in midweek, while the Addicks will be hoping to make it four victories from five.
Match preview
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Nigel Clough's Mansfield started their first season back in the third tier in impressive fashion, and though they have found 2025 difficult, they were only three points from the playoff spots on Boxing Day.
The Stags went on a dire 14-game winless run across all competitions between the start of January and mid-March, and they are now 14th in League One with 47 points, 15 fewer than sixth-placed Reading.
That being said, Clough's side seem to have turned a corner in recent weeks and have taken maximum points in back-to-back wins over Barnsley and Bristol Rovers ahead of their midweek clash with Charlton.
Last time out at One Call Stadium, centre-back Deji Oshilaja scored a 90th-minute winner against the Tykes to end Mansfield's barren spell, helping the club to avoid equalling their worst ever run of 14 league matches without a win.
If Tuesday's hosts can replicate that result in midweek, then they could leapfrog Stevenage and go level with 12th-placed Lincoln City on 50 points, and though they are unlikely to climb up towards the playoffs by the end of the season, three points could give them the security of a 14-point cushion between themselves and the relegation zone.
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Meanwhile, Nathan Jones's Charlton have won six of their last eight matches, drawing one and losing the other, and will be confident of solidifying their position in the playoff spots with another victory in midweek.
On Saturday, striker Matty Godden set the tone with a goal in the first minute as the Addicks impressively thrashed promotion rivals Huddersfield Town 4-0 at the Valley, marking an eighth consecutive home win for the Valiants.
Those three points have kept Jones's team in fourth on 69 points ahead of Stockport County, and with the Terriers dropping down to seventh, that victory has created an eight-point gap to the teams outside of the playoffs.
However, while Tuesday's visitors have been impervious at home in recent weeks, they have been more mixed on the road, and with just two wins from their last six away games, they may be concerned about coming up against a potentially rejuvenated Mansfield this week.
Back in December, Charlton played out a 0-0 draw with the Stags, but should they manage to overcome their hosts this time around, they could go into next weekend's match against Lincoln only five points behind Wrexham in the automatic promotion spots.
Team News
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After registering an assist in his side's win over the Gas last time out, midfielder Keanu Baccus should start as part of a trio alongside Louis Reed and Hiram Boateng in the centre of the park in midweek.
On the flanks, wing-backs Lucas Akins and Stephen McLaughlin will provide width, while a strike partnership of Will Evans and Caylan Vickers will trying to break down the promotion chasers up top.
As for Charlton, striker Matty Godden is likely to be supported by Luke Berry, who got two assists against Huddersfield, from an attacking midfield position.
Further back, Greg Docherty and Conor Coventry will provide some stability from the base of midfield, while centre-backs Lloyd Jones and Macaulay Gillesphey are set to protect William Mannion between the sticks once again.
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Pym; Hewitt, Oshilaja, Cargill; Akins, Baccus, Reed, Boateng, McLaughlin; Evans, Vickers
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Mannion; Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Edwards; Coventry, Docherty; Small, Berry, Campbell; Godden
We say: Mansfield Town 1-2 Charlton Athletic
Mansfield will be keen to prove that they are back on track after struggling in the early months of 2025, so expect them to be on the scoresheet.
However, Charlton are in strong form overall despite their middling away record, and they are likely to add three more points to their push for promotion on Tuesday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
