🗞️ Preview: Mansfield Town vs. Bolton Wanderers

Wanderers travel to Nottinghamshire this evening to take on Mansfield Town in a rearranged Sky Bet League Two fixture at the One Call Stadium.

Pre-Match Quotes: 

Ian Evatt: ‘We want to build some momentum and we’re trying to improve as we go along. We still feel like we’ve got a fighting chance this season, so obviously we need to go to Mansfield and set our stall out like we did on Saturday, and start the game well because we know we’re going to come under pressure early in the game.

‘We need to grow into the game after that and then in the last half an hour, as I’ve spoken about many times, we can take over games and create the chances. First and foremost, we have to go there and make sure we’re ready to fight because I think Nigel (Clough) is renowned for being an excellent motivator of his teams and they’ll be up for it.’

Nigel Clough:  ‘I think they’ll come with a bit more confidence than last week. They have a good selection of players that have played at a higher level. They have quality all over the pitch.

‘The game is about us trying to pick it up again – I didn’t think we were brilliant at Southend, but that’s the only time we’ve played in about two or three weeks now, which is the only concern.’

How to watch:

Wanderers supporters can watch the clash with Mansfield Town by purchasing an iFollow BWFC video match pass for just £10 you don’t have to miss a kick.

An iFollow BWFC video match pass will ensure supporters do not miss a minute of the action, with the entire match streamed through any compatible laptop, computer, tablet or mobile device in the United Kingdom.

Team News:

New signing MJ Williams could make his debut for Wanderers this evening following his Deadline Day move from Blackpool. Fellow new signings Lukas Jensen, Oladapo Afolayan and Marcus Maddison will have to wait until the weekend as they were recruited after the registration deadline for tonight’s fixture.

Ryan Delaney returns from his one-match suspension and comes into contention with Declan John also pushing to start following his return to action in Saturday’s victory against Leyton Orient.

Stags captain Ollie Clarke is available for selection again following his return to training after an injury lay-off but former Wanderers Joe Riley is a long-term absentee and will miss out.

Town brought in goalkeeper Jamie Pardington on loan from Wolves yesterday, as well as winger Oliver Sarkic on loan from Blackpool. Whether the duo are eligible to feature this evening remains to be seen.

Bookies Odds:

Mansfield Town win: 21/20

Draw: 5/2

Bolton Wanderers win: 9/4

Correct as of 02/02/2021 (12.30pm) on skybet.com

Form:

Wanderers recorded their first win of 2021 last weekend with a 2-0 success against Leyton Orient at the University of Bolton Stadium, with Eoin Doyle notching his tenth goal of the campaign to date.

After a winless run of six matches, Ian Evatt’s side will be hoping to gather some momentum going into a busy February schedule.

Mansfield haven’t played in a week and-a-half following last week’s postponed fixture against Wanderers and then the weekend’s postponed trip to Walsall, but the Stags are on a run of five consecutive league victories with their latest a 1-0 win at Southend United.

Prior to victory at Roots Hall, Nigel Clough’s side had also dispatched Oldham Athletic, Salford City, Port Vale and Scunthorpe United. The Nottinghamshire outfit will be looking to extend that run and continue their climb up the Sky Bet League Two table.

Last time out:

The two teams last met in early November at the University of Bolton Stadium and it was a game which ended with honours even.

Coming into the match without a league victory to their names, Mansfield took the lead through George Lapslie but Antoni Sarcevic’s late leveller ensured that Wanderers came away with a share of the spoils.

Match Officials:

Referee: Sebastian Stockbridge.

Assistant Referees: Gareth Mellor and Paul Evans.  

Fourth Official: Ravel Cheosiaua.