Mansfield Town v Lincoln City: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Mansfield Town managed to break a shocking streak of seven successive defeats with their 3-3 draw at Blackpool on Saturday but they will be looking for their first win since 4th January when they host Lincoln City at the One Call Stadium on Tuesday.

The Stags are still 10 points clear of the bottom four in the division but with several of the struggling sides showing improved form, manager Nigel Clough will want to reverse his team's slide down the standings as soon as possible.

Lincoln have also drifted down the table after spending the first half of the season in contention for the play-off places, but they are 13th now and only two points ahead of Mansfield having played one more game.

The Imps clearly had the upper hand in the teams' first meeting of the season, winning 4-1 in August, but Michael Skubala's side have not won any of their last four games.

Mansfield Town v Lincoln City betting tips and predictions

Lincoln City to win - 9/5

Mansfield and Lincoln were both much further up the League One table in the early months of the season, with the Stags enjoying a real honeymoon period after promotion last term, claiming a place in the top four after their first 12 games.

The Nottinghamshire side had a strong spell over the festive period with four wins in five games but it has been all downhill since, with an FA Cup defeat at home to Wigan followed by six successive league losses.

That run is even worse than it first sounds, as Mansfield lost four successive games to sides battling against relegation, losing to Cambridge, Crawley, Shrewsbury and Northampton. 

The Stags were then blown away by three goals in the first 32 minutes of a 3-0 loss to in-form Leyton Orient and while they managed to take a 3-1 lead against Blackpool on Saturday, they couldn't hold their nerve to get that elusive win and conceded twice in six minutes to draw 3-3.

They have suffered four successive home defeats and could struggle to get back to winning ways against Lincoln.

The Imps have also regressed and have won only two of their last 12 matches, but they will have taken heart from a strong showing on the road at Leyton Orient on Saturday.

Lincoln went 2-0 down to a side who have climbed into the play-off places, but fought back to 2-2 only to go down to a Charlie Kelman goal in the second minute of added time.

It was certainly a much tougher match for Orient than Mansfield had given them in their previous fixture and Lincoln have a fair away record with only six defeats in 16 league road games. They should be able to take advantage of a home side clearly lacking confidence.

Over 2.5 goals - 23/20

Mansfield have found goals hard to come by in their recent home matches but their transfer-window additions were aimed at boosting their firepower and this could be a more entertaining game than most of the fixtures their home fans have seen of late.

Apart from their 1-0 home defeats to Crawley and Northampton, the other five of Mansfield's last seven games all had more than 2.5 goals and there could be at least three in this one too.

Lincoln also brought in offensive reinforcements and veteran striker James Collins has three goals in five appearances for the Imps after leaving Championship side Derby. 

Both teams have scored in four of Lincoln's last five games and after conceding in five straight fixtures, Lincoln may need to rely on their forwards to win a relatively high-scoring game.

Jordan Rhodes anytime goalscorer - 12/5

There is hope for Mansfield and their recent recruits have looked their best chance of reversing their slide down the table.

Caylan Vickers, a loan signing from Premier League Brighton, has looked a real livewire with a touch of class and veteran striker Jordan Rhodes should also be among the goals soon.

Rhodes missed a golden chance to open his account when coming on as a substitute against Northampton but he was not available for the game against Blackpool as he is on loan from the Tangerines.

That enforced rest should not have done him any harm and he looks the most likely candidate to force Lincoln to have to score at least twice to win.

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.