Spirited Stags travel to Prenton Park to take on fellow promotion hopefuls Tranmere Rovers

Another instalment of Friday Night Football awaits Mansfield Town as they face out-of-form Tranmere Rovers on Merseyside.

The Stags have simply been unstoppable over the last four months and have put themselves well and truly in the promotion picture.

Only 20 or so games ago, the amber and blues faced problems with suspensions and injuries which saw them occupy 23rd place and the final spot in the drop zone.

Fast forward a couple of months and they are within reaching distance of the automatic promotion places and could further their hopes of going up with a win against the Birkenhead-based outfit.

Similarly to the Stags, Tranmere are within the mix in terms of promotion and sit on the exact same amount of points as their opponents on Friday evening.

However, the Rovers’ form has stalled in recent weeks and they come into this fixture without a win in their last five league fixtures.

Mansfield took on another fellow promotion rival last Friday as they welcomed Exeter City to the One Call Stadium.

This was a crucial clash for both sides and the Stags passed the test with flying colours as they recorded a 2-1 victory over the Grecians.

Restricting the visitors to very little in the first half saw Nigel Clough’s men take the lead in the 34th minute. After a corner, the ball was recycled to Matty Longstaff who crossed it back into the box. Rhys Oates flicked the ball on at the front post and gave Farrend Rawson an easy tap-in from close range.

They further extended that advantage in the second half as a certain on-loan midfielder scored his second goal in as many games.

Another move that was created down the Stags left-hand flank saw Stephen McLaughlin drill the ball into Jordan Bowery who had his back to goal. The forward could not do anything productive passed it back to left-back, who found Longstaff unmarked in the area, as the midfielder fired the ball into the back of the net.

The amber and blues failed to hold onto a clean sheet as Matt Jay fired in a consolation goal for the Grecians in the final minute of added time, however, a victory against a promotion rival was achieved.

Tranmere faced Northampton Town at the Sixfields Stadium as the two sides looked to get back to winning ways to further their promotion hopes.

Fraser Horsfall put the Cobblers two goals in front ahead of the half-time interval as the hosts looked to close the gap to league leaders, Forest Green Rovers. Mitch Pinnock put Northampton 3-0 up in the 66th minute as Jon Brady’s side secured a win without really being challenged.

In the final 15 minutes, Rovers sprung to life a got a goal back through Josh McPake. Tranmere were able to score another goal with two minutes of normal time to go as Kane Hemmings converted from the penalty spot. Unfortunately, the visitors were unable to find an equaliser and were doomed to their fourth defeat in five games.

Since the formation of League Two, the Stags are unbeaten against the Rovers, recording three wins and four draws from the last seven meetings between the two sides.

The amber and blues will also be hoping to complete their first league double over the Merseyside club since the 1957/58 season.

Clough’s side recorded their first win of the season against Tranmere as they recorded a 2-0 win. Rhys Oates and Danny Johnson were on target for the Nottinghamshire club which kickstarted their fantastic run of form up to now.

The Rovers will be looking to get back to winning ways and record a victory for the first time in five games. With that being said, the Stags have only lost once in their last 18 league fixtures and will be looking to continue that as they bare down on the automatic promotion places.

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