MATCH PREVIEW | Swindon Town vs Mansfield Town

Swindon come into the weekend's fixture off the back of a narrow 1-0 loss to Exeter in the EFL Trophy.

A side packed with youth can be proud of the performance against League One opposition; Swindon’s last time out in the league saw them draw away to Harrogate to end their four-game losing streak. 

The issue of finding a win is becoming a problem, Town last won a League Two match over a month ago. On the other hand, Mansfield are flying. Five straight league wins has seen them shoot up the table to second behind leaders Stockport.

For Swindon to topple the inform giant they must be at their best.

The County Ground must become a fortress

Swindon had one of the best home records in the league up until the end of October where their confidence at the County Ground took a big knock when they lost to Gillingham in a tight affair. But in their most recent home game against Stockport, despite leading twice, Swindon still suffered a heavy loss. 

So what can be done to fix this run of form? Swindon’s clash with Exeter was the lowest-attended home game since 1910. There may be multiple reasons why this is the case, Swindon are in horrific form and trust in the side is almost at rock bottom. 

As well as this, Swindon had already been eliminated from the EFL Trophy thus making the match basically pointless and that was highlighted in the heavy rotation against stronger opponents. 

The game against Mansfield will be telling as to how much faith the fans have in this team, and it should be up to Swindon themselves to ensure the County Ground is full and bouncing by giving the fans a reason to come every week because right now they are not giving many.  

Swindon’s away form is a horror of its’ own and the home form cannot suffer the same issue. Mansfield may be too hard of a challenge, but at least putting up a fight, especially in the second half, can be the beginning of winning back a very divided fanbase. 

Hosting the top two back-to-back in-home fixtures was always going to be hard, but Swindon must learn from the mistakes made against Stockport if they want any kind of a result. 

Head-to-head

Mansfield have won five games on the bounce in the league and have not lost away from home all season. They are also the highest scorers on away trips scoring 20 times. Mansfield remains the last unbeaten side in the league, they have gotten over the habit of dropping points and finding the goals to win. 

Davis Keillor-Dunn will be a constant threat, having scored 11 goals this season he is far and away the most dangerous man in the Mansfield side. 

When the two have gone head to head Swindon have come out on top the most. Winning on 24 occasions, losing 12 times and then sharing the points 15 times. The last two games between the sides have been high-scoring occasions.

Last time out Mansfield came away 4-2 victors with Swindon having won 5-2 earlier in the season. 

Swindon Town League Form:

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Mansfield Town League Form:

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Match Prediction

Swindon need a result at home and in general, Mansfield will come to the County Ground in full confidence and expect to win, so we should be set for a great game. In terms of the result, I can’t see Swindon toppling the most in-form team in the league.