Bottom of the table scrap sees Mansfield travel to Morecambe

The Stags travel to Morecambe who currently sit 23rd, five points away the amber and blues with this being a vital game for both sides.

The Stags were held to a 2-2 draw last time out against Carlisle United. Frontman Nicky Maynard’s brace had the amber and blue in a comfortable position, but two late goals from the Cumbrians ensured the points were shared.

Following an impressive 2-0 win away from home against Walsall, Morecambe were pegged back 2-1 against Cheltenham in their last fixture.

Team news

Midfielder Alex MacDonald will likely miss out after picking up a hamstring injury against Carlisle United in Mansfield’s most recent game.

The game will also come too soon for wing-back Kellan Gordon, who is recovering from a back injury. Fellow defender Hayden White will continue to be assessed in the days leading up to the fixture.

The Shrimps will be without Rhys Oates for the match.

Morecambe’s manager Derek Adams is pleased to “get the group back together” on the training field after a busy period of fixtures last week:

“We had a busy week last week,” Adams said.

“We had a good victory at Walsall midweek and then travelled to Cheltenham at the weekend.

“This week on the training field allows us to get the group back together. When you’re playing games all the time it’s about recovery more than anything else, but this week it’s about getting the players prepared for Mansfield on Saturday.

We’re topping up the ones that need extra fitness work and fine-tuning the ones who’ve been in the team. John O’Sullivan has come back into the group after being off for a little while and Ryan Cooney will hopefully be back in training by the end of this week.

“We also have Harvey Bradbury who obviously came with us to Cheltenham. It’s his first week of full training so it’s good for him to see how we work and get to know the boys a bit better.”

In Tuesday morning’s news conference, Mansfield Town’s assistant manager Joe Dunne looked ahead to this weekend’s trip to Morecambe in Sky Bet League Two:

“A few wins on the bounce and all of a sudden the league table suddenly changes. We’re expecting a tough game [against Morecambe]. Every game is tough – there are no gimmes. But we have to go there with the confidence that we can win.

“It [games against sides in similar position of the table]gives you an opportunity to either create a gap or drag more people towards you.

“If you look at the table, the quantity of points where we are from the end of the league to 11^th are the same points. It depends how you want to look at it.

“A few results and the table changes – then confidence breeds confidence. We’ll strive to take maximum points out of the next few games.”

Head-to-head

Last time the teams played was in the Carabao Cup, a game that was decided on penalties following a 2-2 draw. The Shrimps emerged as 6-5 victors in the shootout.