In a battle of the top two teams in League Two, Stockport County will kick off 2024 by welcoming Mansfield Town to Edgeley Park on Monday.
On Friday, the club from Greater Manchester had to settle for a 0-0 draw with Bradford City, with their lead atop the table now down to five points, while Mansfield Town moved into second after claiming a 1-1 result against Doncaster Rovers.
Match preview
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Throughout the fall and winter months of the domestic campaign, it had been relatively smooth sailing for Stockport, though they dropped points in their final two league contests of 2023.
Their 0-0 draw on Friday was only the third time all season that they had failed to find the back of the net in this competition, with Stockport scoring the most goals in the league so far (53).
The Hatters are more than just an offensive juggernaut, though, as they have been relatively sound defensively throughout the domestic campaign, conceding the third-fewest goals in League Two (24) while posting eight clean sheets at home.
Dave Challinor's men are in scintillating form at home in this competition, winning nine of their last 10 league fixtures at Edgeley Park, going unbeaten since a 1-0 defeat to Gillingham on matchday one.
To this stage of the 2023-24 League Two campaign, Stockport have claimed maximum points in all but two of their domestic contests in which they had scored first, losing only once when doing so, at Mansfield Town in August (3-2).
Their 12-match unbeaten run at home in this competition is just one fewer than their longest run without a defeat at Edgeley Park from a season ago.
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Mansfield Town ended 2023 by jumping into a top-three position and an automatic promotional spot, extending their unbeaten to five matches in league play.
While the point they claimed on Friday proved valuable, it could have been three, as the Stags failed to win for only the second time domestically in 2023-24 when leading at the half.
Nigel Clough's side will enter 2024 on the inside track to claim the League Two title, trailing the Hatters by five points but with two games in hand.
Stockport County may have a solid backline, but Mansfield Town's is even better, conceding the fewest goals in League Two this season (19).
They have triumphed in three of their last four League Two encounters played on New Year's Day but lost their last one in 2022-23, 1-0 to Walsall.
The Stags are riding a seven-match unbeaten run versus Stockport County in league play, though they have never won an away fixture against them in League Two.
Team News
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Stockport were once again missing Antoni Sarcevic on Friday because of a knock, while 16-year-old Joe Hillary was named to the first-team squad for the first time, though he was on the bench throughout the 90 minutes.
We saw three new faces in their starting 11 versus Bradford City who did not begin their matches against Barrow, with Akil Wright, Nick Powell and captain Paddy Madden replacing Neill Byrne, Ryan Croasdale and Kyle Wootton.
Ben Hinchcliffe only had to make one stop on Friday to collect a clean sheet, while leading scorer Isaac Olaofe is without a goal in his last three domestic affairs.
Mansfield Town will be without Alfie Kilgour because of a ruptured Achilles, while James Gale is recovering from a knee injury.
John-Joe O'Toole has been a healthy scratch in their last three domestic outings after previously being on the long-term injured list, while Will Swan is seeking his first start since sustaining a minor knock last month, coming on as a substitute on Friday in place of Lucas Akins.
Callum Johnson picked up his first goal of the season for the Stags in their draw against Doncaster Rovers, nodding home the pinpoint cross by Stephen Quinn, as the Irishman now has a goal involvement in four successive league fixtures.
Stockport County possible starting lineup:
Hinchliffe; Wright, Horsfall, Pye; Knoyle, Camps, Croasdale, Wootton; Powell; Olaofe, Barry
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Pym; Johnson, Flint, Cargill, Lewis; Brunt; Reed, Clarke, Quinn; Akins, Oates
We say: Stockport County 1-1 Mansfield Town
This should be a fascinating contest between two evenly-matched sides who have been perhaps the most consistent all season in this competition.
We expect to see some chances, though maybe not as many as they are used to having, given how sound defensively both teams are, while they have each found ways all season to earn points even when undeserved.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
