In-form Mansfield Town welcome an out-of-form Leyton Orient to the One Call Stadium on Saturday, when the hosts look to make further strides towards securing a playoff position.
Orient are on a five-game winless run in all competitions, seeing them slip away from the top seven, now sitting nine points behind Mansfield in seventh, albeit with a game in hand to their advantage.
Match preview
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Nigel Clough's side have won their last seven consecutive League Two games, only tasting defeat once in the league since October, putting them in fantastic shape ahead of this weekend's fixture.
Last weekend Mansfield ran out as 3-1 winners against Barrow, thanks to goals from Rhys Oates and Stephen McLaughlin before Farrend Rawson was sent off, with Jordan Bowery sealing the three points in the second half.
The Stags have only managed to score 10 goals on their travels this season, largely due to the fact their last six games in all competitions before last Saturday were played on home soil, where they will be looking to entertain their own fans as they have done so often this season.
Twenty five goals in 15 league games at the One Call Stadium is the best scoring stat at home of any other team in the division, suggesting that Saturday's hosts should find the back of the net on a few occasions.
Leyton Orient have lost six games this season, three on their own patch and three on their travels, but they have returned 12 fewer points away from home as they have drawn too many matches on the road.
Kenny Jackett must have thought his side were set to record their second straight goalless draw in midweek, but five minutes from time, Newport's Cameron Norman sent Leyton Orient to a 1-0 defeat.
It has been a season of fine margins for Orient, having lost five of their six matches by just a single goal, holding one of the best defensive records in League Two, having conceded just 22 goals in 24 matches.
Taking that into consideration, Saturday's visitors are likely to approach this game with the mindset of keeping a clean sheet to only then need one goal to claim all three points, but that will be a tough ask given Mansfield's scoring record on their own patch.
These two teams played out a goalless draw in September, and this second encounter between Mansfield and Orient is likely to be another close affair.
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Team News
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Mansfield defender James Perch suffered a serious head injury during training back in August and was set to miss the remainder of the campaign, but he has been cleared to return to full training this week and could feature before the end of the season, although this encounter has come too soon for the 36-year-old.
Rawson will begin his two-game suspension after his red card last time out, meaning that Richard Nartey could come into the heart of defence alongside John-Joe O'Toole.
Bowery is certain to continue to lead the line for Mansfield, looking to add to his four goals this season, and he could be joined by Oliver Hawkins, who will complete the attacking lineup.
Jordan Brown made his full debut for Leyton Orient on Tuesday against Newport, after arriving at the club from Derby County, while fellow midfielder Ethan Coleman could make his debut this weekend after signing from King's Lynn Town.
Orient are expected to continue with a back three including Shadrach Ogie, Omar Beckles and Alex Mitchell, while Connor Wood and Otis Khan operate in the wing-back roles.
Strikers Harry Smith and Aaron Drinan have 21 league goals between them this season and are expected to be the biggest attacking threat for the visitors, leading the line as a duo.
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Bishop; McLaughlin, O'Toole, Nartey, Hewitt; Stirk, Maris, Oates; Bowery, Quinn, Hawkins
Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:
Vigouroux; Ogie, Beckles, Mitchell; Wood, Brown, Kyprianou, Khan; Kemp; Smith, Drinan
We say: Mansfield Town 2-1 Leyton Orient
Mansfield are on a brilliant run of form and at the moment there does not seem to be much any team can do to stop them, and that is likely to continue on Saturday, especially also considering Orient's poor form.
Jackett's side do not tend to lose games by big margins, but Saturday's hosts will be in the mood for goals and the visitors may just not be able to stop that.
Top tip
Sammy Wynne
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Mansfield Town win with a probability of 47.33%. A win for Leyton Orient had a probability of 26.78% and a draw had a probability of 25.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Mansfield Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.61%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.21%) and 2-0 (8.7%). The likeliest Leyton Orient win was 0-1 (8.21%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.29%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 8.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Mansfield Town would win this match.
