Looking to spring a surprise in the race for promotion to the Championship, Mansfield Town will welcome league leaders Birmingham City to One Call Stadium for a League One clash on Saturday afternoon.
The Stags come into this weekend's battle following an away win on Tuesday night, whilst pacesetting Blues made lightwork of Bolton Wanderers in the Second City.
Match preview
After earning automatic promotion from League Two last season courtesy of a third-placed finish in the fourth tier, Mansfield are on a mission to compete in the upper echelons of their division once again, with Saturday's hosts losing just two of their opening 11 matches in League One.
Following a maiden defeat at One Call Stadium on October 19 at the hands of Stevenage, the Stags responded brilliantly on the road at the home of Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night, when goals either side of the half-time whistle from Will Evans and Keanu Baccus secured maximum points at the Brick Community Stadium.
Winning seven of their opening 11 matches in the third tier in 2024-25, Mansfield are currently occupying fourth position in the League One standings, boasting a four-point buffer over seventh-placed Reading and lying just a point behind Wrexham in the second automatic-promotion spot.
Enjoying the joint-best away record in the division to date, the Stags have only won three of their six matches at One Call Stadium this campaign, with the most recent of those victories arriving earlier in the month against Steve Bruce's Blackpool thanks to a double from Welsh hotshot Evans.
Having not played Birmingham in a competitive fixture in the 21st century, it is not a surprise that Mansfield's last win over Birmingham arrived all the way back in April 1990, when striker Steve Wilkinson scored all of his side's goals in the 5-2 thumping of Blues.
Since returning from the October international break, Birmingham City have managed to get their title hunt back on track with consecutive wins, defeating Lincoln City 3-1 last Saturday before putting last season's playoff finalists Bolton to the sword in the Second City on Tuesday night.
Culpable of many slow starts to contests in the third tier so far, Blues were out of the traps in a flash versus the Wanderers as Tomoki Iwata fired home a long-range volley to give his side the lead after three minutes, before a late penalty from £20m man Jay Stansfield made sure of the points.
Earning 28 points from their first 11 matches, Birmingham have enjoyed their best-ever start to a league campaign and are sitting pretty at the top of the League One standings as a result, four points ahead of second-placed Wrexham who have played a game more than Chris Davies's men.
Alongside Saturday's hosts Mansfield and Barnsley, Blues possess the best away record in the third tier in 2024-25, collecting 12 points from five matches away from St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park, losing the solitary fixture at The Valley versus Charlton Athletic prior to the international pause.
After winning League One's Golden Boot last season as part of the Addicks, Alfie May made the high-profile switch to Birmingham over the summer and has commenced the campaign brightly, netting five goals and providing three assists across 11 third-tier fixtures.
Team News
Replaced at half time on Tuesday night, Mansfield's Lucas Akins is a doubt for this weekend and might be unable to inflict more damage on Birmingham following his exploits whilst at Burton Albion earlier in his career.
As a result, the Stags may need a new face at wing-back on the right side, with 30-year-old Elliott Hewitt representing the most likely candidate for that role.
Birmingham are sweating over the fitness of winger Emil Hansson, who was forced off in the first half against Bolton due to a muscle injury.
Krystian Bielik remains sidelined with an ankle issue, meaning that Christoph Klarer and Ben Davies will continue as the centre-back pairing after keeping a clean sheet last time out.
Scott Wright is a doubt after missing the last two matches with a knock, so Keshi Anderson is likely to retain his spot in the visitors' XI.
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Pym; Bowery, Oshilaja, Cargill; Hewitt, Baccus, Reed, Lewis, Blake-Tracey; Evans, Waine
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Allsopp; Laird, Klarer, Davies, Cochrane; Paik, Iwata, Willumsson, Leonard, Anderson; Stansfield
We say: Mansfield Town 1-2 Birmingham City
Despite being a newly-promoted side, Mansfield are set to pose a major threat on Saturday afternoon following their stellar start to the League One campaign.
Birmingham will dominate the ball at One Call Stadium and with Stansfield potentially returning to the XI, they should be able to record their third league success on the bounce.
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