Team News:
Mauro Vilhete returns after missing the Notts County game through illness and should be available for selection.
There are still doubts about the fitness of Shaquile Coulthirst, so he may not feature against his former club.
John Akinde (hamstring) has made good progress and is showing signs of improvement.
Curtis Weston (knee) is still on the sidelines but is looking to be back in contention in the coming weeks.
Jamie Stephens (knee) is also still out of contention but is making steady progress towards being fully fit.
Richard Brindley (foot), Elliott Johnson (knee) and Dave Tarpey (knee) are all still recovering for their long-term knocks.
Last Time We Met:
Shaquile Coulthirst scored against Barnet in a 2-0 loss at The Hive London against Mansfield Town in the last fixture between the sides.
Ben Whiteman put The Stags ahead in the 37th minute, taking advantage of Coulthirst’s lay-off, he slotted the ball into the net from just outside the area
Mansfield then won a penalty on the hour mark, Ricardo Almeida Santos brought down his future team-mate Coulthirst, who took the penalty himself and calmly placed the ball down the middle.
Manager: Steve Evans
Nine-time promotion winner Steve Evans was unveiled as the new Stags’ boss in November 2016, following Adam Murray’s departure, signing on a two-and-half-year-deal at One Call Stadium.
Born in Glasgow, he honed his skills as a striker with the Bolton Wanderers academy before going on to amass more than 150 appearances and over 40 goals playing for Clyde, Albion Rovers, Ayr United, Hamilton Academical and St. Johnstone.
Unfortunately, a knee ligament injury cut short his playing days and he stepped over to the other side of the white line as manager of non-league outfit Stamford, whom he led to successive United Counties League Premier Division honours.
Between 1998 and 2007, two stints at Boston United followed where he guided the Pilgrims all the way from the Southern Football League into the League Two.
Evans then took the reins of Crawley Town in 2007 and in the five seasons that followed he secured two promotions, a club-record points haul of 105 and a memorable FA Cup run in
the 2010/11 season, before being knocked out by Premier League giants Manchester United after a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
The Scottish manager then added two more promotions to his portfolio between 2012 and 2015, as he masterminded Rotherham United’s path to the Championship from League Two.
He parted ways with the Millers in 2015 and was subsequently appointed Leeds United manager.
The 54-year-old steered the Whites to a respectable mid-table finish and a fifth round FA Cup tie against Watford, where they bowed out after a 1-0 defeat.
Connections:
Shaquile Coulthirst went on loan to Mansfield Town in 2017 from Peterborough United, making 20 league appearances and scoring five goals for The Stags. This was enough for The Bees to sign the striker permanently, where he’s gone on to score six league goals so far this season, including a hat-trick against Swindon Town, the first of his professional career.
Calum Butcher made three league appearances for Barnet in 2009 on loan from Tottenham Hotspur. After making his debut in a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth, he was later allowed to return to his parent club. After spells in Denmark and Scotland, he signed for Mansfield from Millwall in the summer of 2017.
Dangerman:
Striker Danny Rose has become a real fan favourite at Mansfield since joining the club from Bury in May 2016. An impressive first season saw his bag 10 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions for The Stags, form that he has certainly built on this season.
So far, he already has seven goals in 11 league appearances this season and has also contribute two assists in the process, meaning he’s only two away from equalling his Sky Bet League Two tally from last season.
His most notable performance came at home against early pacesetters Notts County, where he scored a brace in a 3-1 victory.
With a keen eye for goal and the attacking prowess to back it up, Rose is certainly someone who should be on everyone’s radar on Tuesday night.
Last Time Out:
Mansfield Town lost 3-1 at home to Swindon Town in their last fixture, leaving The Stags four points adrift of the playoff places.
Swindon struck early through Amine Linganzi after comfortably prodding home a free-kick from Matty Taylor. They doubled their lead just before the break when John Goddard broke down the left, finishing from close range.
Right-back Hayden White then gave away a penalty early in the second half when he fouled Luke Norris. He stepped up himself and slotted the ball home to give The Robins a 3-0 lead.
Danny Rose got what turned out to be a consolation goal in stoppage time, scoring an impressive acrobatic volley to at least give the Mansfield fans something to cheer about.
This leaves Mansfield with three defeats in four, sitting 11th in the table. Swindon, however, climbed to 8th, leaving them a point behind Coventry and the final playoff place.
Ticket info:
Supporters can find out more about tickets details here.
Keep up with the game:
Full match commentary from every game is available on iFollow. If you are based outside of the UK & Ireland, you can watch the game live on iFollow.
You can also get live match updates on Twitter throughout the afternoon. We are also on Facebook and will go behind the scenes on our Instagram.
