Mansfield Town return back to the One Call Stadium when they face League Two basement boys Southend United

Mansfield Town welcome Southend United to One Call Stadium this weekend in what is a key fixture for both clubs.

The East Midlands side will be looking to get back on the winning path having picked up two points from their last three League Two matches.

Mansfield Town have been very inconsistent, in some games they create plenty of chances but simply do not finish them and in some, they create minimal chances and it is a real concern.

In their last league outing, the Amber and Blues travelled to Brunton Park to face in-form Carlisle United with the side third in League Two before the game kicked off and Mansfield 16 places below the Cumbrian club in 19th.

Carlisle only allowed Mansfield seven shots all game with only one shot on target gives the Stags a 14% conversion rate. The hosts meanwhile had a 33% conversion rate of shots to shots on target having 21 attempts with seven ending up going at the Stags goal.

Luckily for the home side, one of the shots on target were able to go in when Omari Patrick scored in the 39th minute and that ultimately settled the game with Mansfield losing only their second game on the road.

For Southend however, it was a very positive midweek performance. Southend faced the Stags’ opponents last weekend, Grimsby Town.

What the Amber and Blues lacked, the Essex side displayed perfectly against the Mariners at Blundell Park on Tuesday. Four shots, four on target and three goals.

The Shrimpers got off to the perfect start through a first-minute goal from Kyle Taylor, but Grimsby got back into the game back through Ira Jackson Jr. scoring his second EFL goals in as many appearances.

After the break, Tom Clifford netted for Southend in the 57th minute as the home side looked to gain a third victory of the season.

The three points were well and truly in the bag for Southend as Greg Halford scored with 15 minutes to go and sealed the deal for the hosts.

To make matters worse for Grimsby, in added time Luke Waterfall was sent off after a second yellow card and will now serve a one-game match ban for his disciplinary actions.

Southend have gone three games unbeaten and even though they are 24th in League Two they may pose a serious threat to the Stags.

Their last encounter against each other came all the way back in 2015 as Southend came out as 2-0 victors at Roots Hall.

Two first-half goals from Barry Corr and Will Atkinson settled the game for the Shrimpers as they gained another all-important three points on their way to the 2014/15 League Two Play-Offs.

In those exact Play-Offs, Southend went through to the final after beating Stevenage 4-2 on aggregate and then beat Wycombe Wanderers on penalties at Wembley.

The Stags will want to get revenge on the Essex side from 2015 and get one over on them especially with both teams placed near the bottom of the table. This is a real six-pointer with both sides wanting to grab the important points from this fixture.

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