Mansfield Town vs Northampton preview: Injury news, manager comments, H2H record, League One form
Mansfield Town will look to keep their unbeaten League One streak alive on Saturday when they face Northampton Town at the One Call Stadium.
Cobblers technical director and interim manager Colin Calderwood will return to his old stomping ground this weekend in search of a vital three points. Northampton are locked in a relegation battle and Calderwood fears opportunities for his side to avoid the drop are now ‘running out’.
Meanwhile, Stags were able to keep their points tally ticking over after securing a big draw against promotion chasers Bradford City midweek. Nigel Clough celebrated his 300th game in charge of Mansfield Town as his side made the trip to West Yorkshire and troubled the fourth-placed Bantams.
Mansfield Town League One form
Stags are unbeaten in their last five league games – a run that has included a win over Reading and their latest draw against Bradford. After a frustrating string of three consecutive defeats in February, Stags bounced back with their 2-2 draw against AFC Wimbledon. Mansfield Town have 46 points on the board so far, five ahead of the bottom four. Clough’s priority is to hit the 50-point mark and beyond to guarantee his side’s safety.
Northampton Town League One form
Cobblers are struggling near the bottom of the table and are in desperate need of points to haul themselves out of the relegation zone. Calderwood’s side have won just one match since Boxing Day and have lost 12 games from the 18 played in that time. Northampton are winless in their last eight games and they have lost six of those, conceding 13 goals along the way.
Latest injury news
Stags are still without Luke Bolton, Baily Cargill and George Maris, while Jordan Bowery is also set to miss this weekend’s clash after being taken off in the second half against Bradford.
The club has confirmed Louis Reed and Frazer Blake-Tracy are both ‘touch and go’ for Northampton after both missing the midweek game due to hamstring problems. Tyler Roberts will have his fitness assessed but he is expected to be left out of the squad.
For Northampton, Nesta Guinness-Walker, Dean Campbell and Michael Forbes have all returned to training after missing Cobblers’ midweek match against Stockport County.
Mansfield Town vs Northampton Town H2H record
These two sides have played each other 86 times throughout their history and Mansfield Town edge the standings significantly in terms of wins. Stags have recorded 42 victories, while Cobblers have won 28 and drawn the remaining 16.
Mansfield Town and Northampton manager comments
Calderwood says he always enjoys returning to Mansfield Town, where he spent the first years of his senior career. The interim Cobblers boss made 100 appearances for Stags as a player.
“The crowd get right behind them in a really strong way and it's normally a good atmosphere but we have to challenge them in the best way we can and see if we can start to grab something that can give us a step ladder towards safety,” Calderwood said. “We're running out of games but this would be a good one to win because it would give the teams above us a few butterflies about what we might be capable of.”
Clough has vowed Stags will continue their unbeaten run as long as possible as they prioritise getting as many points in the bank as possible.
“Out of the last six games, we’ve lost one and that’s Arsenal,” the boss said after the Bradford City result. “Four draws – we don’t mind the draws – and one win. It’s been a brilliant run and we’ll stay unbeaten as long as we can.”