Mansfield Town aiming to bounce back from first defeat to see off Wrexham in FA Cup showdown

Stags tasted defeat for the first time on Tuesday as Port Vale beat them 1-0 in the Carabao Cup fourth round.

It meant they had at least equalled a club record of 20 games unbeaten when added to the win in last season's final game.

Wrexham drew 0-0 with Stags at the One Call a month ago and have been unbeaten since then and sit one place and one point above Mansfield, who have a game in hand.

“I am expecting a good game between two of the top sides in League Two,” said boss Nigel Clough.

“Wrexham will be rested after the full seven days or whatever and I am sure they will have loved the endeavour we put in on Tuesday night.

“For us, it would be nice to not lose back to back games, so we will give it a good go and get ready for it.

“I hope the magnitude of the game on Saturday night will lift the players after Tuesday. It's what the FA Cup can bring if you can get through a couple of rounds and we'd like to stay in it if we can.

“It is one of those occasions where you wish you had drawn someone about four leagues below you at home. It would be a slightly easier draw than one of the best teams, but it is what it is.

“We are out of one cup, let's not go out of both. We still have the EFL Trophy too on Tuesday, but the league still remains our priority.”

Stags missed striker Lucas Akins on Tuesday as he was ruled out following a bang to the head at the weekend.

But the Vale game did see two Stags returning from injury make appearances off the bench in striker Rhys Oates and left back Stephen McLaughlin.

“When you lose someone of Lucas Akins' influence and ability from the team it is very important we have Rhys Oates coming back. Thirty minutes was about as much as he could do on Tuesday night,” said Clough.

“But we were delighted to get him back involved and you could see the threat he poses as soon as he on.

“Oatesy was inches away from getting us an equaliser on Tuesday. He just tried to dink it over the goalkeeper, but his touch took him half a yard too far.

“But we have been missing that threat at times so hopefully he can stay fit for the next few months.

“Stephen McLaughlin is just working his way back too and it's next Tuesday against Everton U21 in the EFL Trophy when they will start. But it's great having them back involved.”

He continued: “Now we want another cup run if we can.

“It is difficult to challenge on all fronts as we have been doing for the last 19 games in all competitions – and we are incredibly proud of that.

“So we will now give it a go in the FA Cup and the EFL Trophy – they are the two that are left.

“We will play players when we need to and give players a breather when we need to.

“Ideally you'd like a clear week leading up to the FA Cup first round as it is such an important tie. We didn't get that, but hopefully getting these players back will give us a couple more options.

“It was a great atmosphere under the lights against Port Vale and our crowd really got behind us second half. We are going to need that again Saturday night.”

Tickets for the game are on general sale via www.stagstickets.co.uk, 01623 482482 or by visiting the ticket office at One Call Stadium.

Ticket prices are Adult: (18-64): £15, Senior (65+): £5, U18: £5.