A Northampton Town side on the brink of venturing into the automatic promotion places in the League Two table host a Mansfield Town side close to breaking into the playoff spots on Tuesday night.
Jon Brady's men left it late to rescue a 1-1 draw away at Hartlepool United last time out, while the visitors enjoyed an extended rest due to the postponement of their tie with Leyton Orient.
Match preview
© Reuters
Trips to Victoria Park will not feature high on Brady's holiday shortlist anytime soon, as the Northampton boss left Saturday's clash with Hartlepool seething at more than one perceived sense of injustice against his side in a low-scoring stalemate.
Josh Umerah appeared to have been in an offside position when slotting home the opener in the first half, but the goal was allowed to stand, and Sam Hoskins's 18th goal of the season saved Northampton's bacon in the 81st minute of the contest.
As well as having gripes with the officials over the offside call, Brady hit out at the decision to let Euan Murray continue after the Hartlepool defender caught Jack Sowerby with an elbow to the face, alleging that "the world is against us" as his side continue their podium charge.
The stalemate at Victoria Park represented a fourth game on the bounce without defeat for this week's hosts, who are sitting pretty in fourth place and just three adrift of Stevenage - who have a game in hand - in the final automatic promotion place.
However, Brady's injury-hit squad have now failed to score more than one goal in each of their last eight League Two contests, and a paltry three wins from their last 11 home matches in the fourth tier does not exactly make for pleasant reading before the visit of a refreshed Mansfield crop.
© Reuters
The only EFL game on Saturday to fall victim to the arctic elements, Mansfield Town's showdown with runaway leaders Leyton Orient was called off due to heavy snowfall at the One Call Stadium, which can certainly be taken as a blessing for Nigel Clough's crop.
Being afforded nine days' worth of rest before travelling to their fellow League One chasers, a Mansfield side with a taste for goals were comfortable 3-1 winners at Wimbledon on March 4, as Riley Harbottle, Danny Johnson and Davis Keillor-Dunn cancelled out Ali Al-Hamadi's 25th-minute opener.
Possessing some of the sharpest shooting boots in the league, only one point separates eighth-placed Mansfield from Salford City, who have played three games more, in the final playoff spot, and 54 goals scored - an identical number to Salford - is comfortably the best tally of its kind outside the top seven.
Only Carlisle United (58) have found the back of the net on more occasions than the Stags, who have fired in at least two in each of their last five games, while each of their last three away games in League Two have also ended in victory.
Following Mansfield's 3-1 aggregate win in the playoff semi-finals last season, Northampton Town held the Stags to a 1-1 draw on Boxing Day earlier this season, but the hosts can only boast one win from their last 10 contests against their clinical counterparts.
Team News
Already without a good chunk of their squad due to injury, Northampton have now been handed two fresh concern with Sowerby and Josh Eppiah, the former of whom could not see out of his eye after feeling the full force of Murray's forearm.
Brady - who labelled the decision not to send Murray off "diabolical" - could therefore bring in William Hondermarck to cover for Sowerby, while Eppiah was a half-time withdrawal due to a blow to the knee.
Kieron Bowie will be on standby if Eppiah is not given the all-clear, but one positive from Saturday's game was the return of Ryan Haynes - who played 71 minutes at left-back after shaking off an injury of his own - to the first XI. Meanwhile, Aaron McGowan remains suspended after an appeal to rescind his red card against Crawley Town was rejected.
In contrast, weekend fatigue will not apply to Mansfield, but Clough is also being forced to cope with a thinned squad and lost both of Christy Pym and Elliott Hewitt to last-minute concerns before the win over Wimbledon.
Pym ought to be fine as he fights to recover from a stomach bug, while Hewitt suffered from knee and calf pains and was not risked as a precaution, so it remains to be seen if he will be given the green light this week.
Empathising with Brady over half-time withdrawals, Clough had to take Callum Johnson off during the break against Wimbledon due to a calf issue of his own, so Lucas Akins could operate as a makeshift wing-back as Danny Johnson starts up top.
Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Burge; Lintott, Sherring, Guthrie, Haynes; Hoskins, Leonard, Hondermarck, Pinnock; Appere, Bowie
Mansfield Town possible starting lineup:
Pym; Perch, Kilgour, Harbottle; Akins, Quinn, Wallace, Clarke, Bowery; Keillor-Dunn, D. Johnson
We say: Northampton Town 1-2 Mansfield Town
Even with their treatment room nearing full capacity, Mansfield's continued commitment to attacking has been admirable, and Northampton's resistance should prove futile at a ground where success has often eluded them in recent times.
Also working around jellied legs and their own injury crisis, Tuesday's recipe is seemingly one for defeat for Brady's side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
