Mansfield Town travel to the Pirelli Stadium this Saturday to face Burton Albion, needing a result to arrest a difficult run of form. Nigel Clough's side have taken just one victory from their last five League One outings, leaving them 17th in the table with seven points from six games.
The Stags' recent results have been inconsistent. A goalless draw at home to Huddersfield last weekend followed a 1-0 defeat at Bradford and a heavy 5-0 loss at Reading. Their sole win in this sequence was a 5-2 home triumph over Luton at the end of August.
Recent struggles
That form has left Mansfield six points behind early leaders Sheffield Wednesday. They have scored eight goals this season but conceded eleven, giving them a negative goal difference of three. The team will be looking to their last starting lineup, which featured the likes of David McGoldrick and Matt Smith in attack, to find a cutting edge against a Burton side sitting 11th. The club's data shows the team has averaged 1.3 goal minutes per game this season and has earned 7 points from a possible 18.
Burton Albion themselves are coming off a 3-0 defeat away at Oxford United. Their recent results include a 4-1 win over AFC Wimbledon and a 2-2 draw with Cambridge United. The last meeting between these two sides ended in a 0-0 stalemate at Field Mill back in April. A full look at the current standings shows the tight nature of the division.
Kick-off in Staffordshire is scheduled for 11:30 UTC on Saturday, 19 September. Mansfield will then prepare for their next league assignment as they look to climb the table.
Mansfield Town secured their first away point of the League One season with a 2-2 draw at Burton Albion on September 19. Michael Smith and Lucas Akins scored for the Stags, who came from two goals down. Manager Nigel Clough said the draw was 'about fair' and believes their away form 'started in the second half today'. The result leaves Mansfield 17th in League One with seven points from six games. Their next fixture is at home to Leyton Orient on September 26.
Mansfield Town came from behind to draw 2-2 at Burton Albion on September 19. The club's own data shows the Stags had 12 shots to Burton's 10, with five on target. Michael Smith scored the first equaliser in the 40th minute, assisted by Nathan Moriah-Welsh, before Lucas Akins netted the second 20 minutes after coming on as a substitute. Mansfield received five yellow cards during the match.
