The Stags face Leyton Orient in hope of recording a victory for the first time in six matches after four consecutive draws

After a couple of performances to be proud of, Mansfield Town host yet another promotion-chasing side. This time it is Play-Off pushing Leyton Orient, with the O’s four points outside of the top seven.

A return home for the amber and blues and they face another team that is pushing for promotion. This time the One Call Stadium will welcome Leyton Orient to NG18.

The O’s have been pushing for the Play-Offs all season, and with nine games to go, they are only four points away from Newport County who sit in seventh, the final Play-Off spot in League Two.

Jobi McAnuff’s side have gone on a five-game unbeaten run as of late with three wins and two draws since early March. March 6th was when Orient last recorded a league defeat with Exeter City running out 4-0 victors at St James’ Park that afternoon.

In their last league fixture, the London-based side faced Oldham Athletic at The Breyer Group Stadium last weekend.

Connor Wilkinson gave the hosts an early goal with the forward scoring in the eighth minute as the O’s looked to continue their winning run to three.

Daniel Kemp doubled the lead for Orient two minutes before the end of the first-half as McAnuff’s side made the most of their chances and converted them into goals.

Alfie McAlmont’s goal in the 61st minute gave Oldham hope that they could come back, but in the end, Leyton Orient held on and earned another three points.

The match was filled with shots with a total of 32 efforts taken but only seven of them ended up hitting the target, with Orient having six efforts on goal and the Latics with a measly one which they converted into a goal.

Mansfield Town have also gone on an unbeaten run, not tasting defeat since the 13th March when they were defeated 1-0 by Crawley Town.

Since then, the amber and blues have drawn four league games with all those matches being very close and could have tipped either way.

Last weekend, Nigel Clough’s men travelled to Prenton Park to face automatic promotion-pushing Tranmere Rovers.

The Stags have been in superb form against the sides in the top half of the table and headed into this match with a lot of confidence behind them after their recent performances.

Tranmere were in front by the end of the first-half. Kaiyne Woolery pounced on Mansfield’s lapse in concentration and gave his side the lead in added time of the first period.

Stephen Quinn levelled the game up at one apiece after he struck a fantastic volley which beat Scott Davies and ended up in the back of the net.

Another draw and another performance the Stags should be proud of, but it was the 17th draw of the season and if those draws could have been turned into wins the amber and blues may well have been more than nine points away from the relegation zone.

In the reverse fixture between the two sides it ended all square at The Breyer Group Stadium. After a lacklustre first-half, the floodgates opened in the second period.

Jordan Bowery’s penalty and Andy Cook’s goal had the Stags in the driving seat with 15 minutes to go in the match.

A collapse in the final 10 minutes saw the Nottinghamshire fail to take all three points, settling for just the one. Danny Johnson scored in the 82nd minute which looked to be just a consolation, but Ruel Sotiriou’s goal in the second minute of added time ruined the afternoon for the visitors and saw the hosts take an unlikely point away from the fixture.

The last five times these two have played each other, Mansfield were victorious twice, with Orient also winning on two occasions and encountering one draw.

In the last 20 years, the Stags have only been victorious against the O’s on one occasion and will want to put it right on Friday afternoon to kick start a good run of form heading into the final stretch of the season.

Orient will look to take their tremendous league form and win confidently against the amber and blues, but they must not underestimate Clough’s side after their recent results against the top dogs in League Two.

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