Already-promoted Mansfield Town travel to The Dunes Hotel Stadium to take on Barrow, who are fighting for a playoff spot, in their final game of the League Two season on Saturday.
The hosts head into the match in seventh place but find themselves in a battle with three teams below them as they fight to secure their place in the playoff spots.
Match preview
© Reuters
Despite coming into this match in seventh place and holding their fate in their own hands, Barrow will be rather disappointed with how their end to the season has played out.
The home team had been competing for an automatic promotion spot for a large part of the campaign, but a recent run of six games without victory, including five defeats in that time, has allowed those below them to make up significant ground.
A first victory in nearly a month is now vital for Barrow if they are to secure their place in the top seven as they lead eighth-placed Crawley Town by a single point, while Bradford City and Walsall are also both within three points of the Bluebirds.
While Crawley face 21st-placed Grimsby Town and Bradford come up against 17th-placed Newport County, leaving them as strong favourites to pick up victories, Barrow have the difficult task of taking on already-promoted Mansfield.
The hosts have only managed one victory from the last five meetings between these two sides and last won at home in March 2021, leaving them as the underdogs ahead of the game.
After the heartbreak of missing out on last season's playoff places to Salford City by just one goal, Mansfield came back with a vengeance this time around.
A phenomenal start to the season quickly cemented Nigel Clough's men as one of the early favourites for promotion, with his side staggeringly going undefeated in the league until a 2-1 loss to Swindon Town on November 25, after conceding the winner in the 93rd minute.
Their promotion is one that has been long coming, missing out on automatic promotion on the final day in 2019, losing in the playoff final in 2022 and last season's failure to qualify for the playoffs due to a solitary goal.
They are now set to return to League One for the first time since 2002, but the work is not yet done for Mansfield, who want to finish on as many points as possible before the next campaign.
Four wins in their last four certainly has them on track for a brilliant end to the season, and they will fancy their chances against a side with the second-worst form in the league over the past six games.
Team News
© Reuters
Barrow have been able to avoid any fresh injury concerns in their recent outings, leaving Pete Wild with a full squad to choose from.
George Ray, who was sent off against Gillingham earlier this month, could make his return having served all of his three-game suspension.
Forward Cole Stockton has impressed since joining the club in January, scoring seven in 16 appearances, and the striker is expected to once again lead the line.
As for the visitors, Callum Johnson and Rhys Oates have failed to appear since New Year's Day and the pair remain unavailable for this one.
Davis Keillor-Dunn has scored 22 goals in the league for Mansfield this season, including three in his last three, and he will be looking to continue this fine form.
Barrow possible starting lineup:
Farman; Feely, Chester, Canavan; Stephenson, Spence, Campbell, Gotts, Newby; Acquah, Stockton
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Pym; Akins, Flint, Bowery, McLaughlin; Boateng, Reed, Quinn; Maris; Nichols, Keillor-Dunn
We say: Barrow 0-2 Mansfield Town
The two sides come into this game in completely opposing form, with Barrow picking up the second-fewest points of any team in the division over the past six fixtures, while Mansfield have picked up four wins from their last four.
Because of that, we believe that Mansfield will continue their excellent run ahead of their return to League One next season with a victory here, placing Barrow's own playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
