Mansfield Town vs Doncaster Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

Mansfield Town volition invited Doncaster Rovers to the One Call Stadium connected Saturday for their archetypal crippled of the 2026-27 League One season.

The hosts finished 5 points and 4 places supra their visitors past year, portion some teams kicked disconnected the run with EFL Cup first-round ties past weekend.

Match preview

Mansfield Town volition footwear disconnected their 3rd consecutive League One play connected Saturday aiming to physique connected a affirmative run past clip astir aft opening with a cupful defeat.

After winning promotion from England's 4th tier and past finishing 17th nether Nigel Clough, they finished 10th past clip around, earning 65 points from their 46 outings, having lone mislaid 13 of those, portion lone 2 teams conceded less than the 50 goals they allowed.

The Stags enjoyed a peculiarly pleasing extremity to the term, winning 5 and losing conscionable 1 of their past 10 games to decorativeness 10 points abbreviated of the playoffs, earlier turning their absorption to 2026-27 successful a mixed pre-season, culminating successful a 3-1 nonaccomplishment to Derby County.

Clough's men would statesman astatine location to second-tier Sheffield United past Sunday and failed to outpouring immoderate surprises, trailing 1-0 astatine the interruption to a Patrick Bamford extremity and yet losing 3-0 arsenic Mark McGuinness and Callum O'Hare recovered the nett successful the last 20 minutes.

Now focussing afloat connected different League One bid, with the hopes of a sustained propulsion successful the apical fractional to physique connected past season, Mansfield Town volition look to get disconnected the people with an opening location victory.

Their visitors, meanwhile, marque the travel aiming to replicate past season's travel to the One Call Stadium, again successful August, erstwhile they won 2-1 aboriginal successful the 2025-26 term.

That was Doncaster Rovers' archetypal backmost successful League One aft their ain promotion from the 4th tier, and they yet finished 14th with 60 points connected the committee from their 46 matches.

Grant McCann's broadside volition person been peculiarly pleased with their distant grounds connected their instrumentality to the 3rd tier, with lone 7 teams topping their tally of 27 points connected the road, including a final-day triumph astatine Peterborough United earlier a engaged pre-season schedule.

That started with wins implicit St Patrick's Glenavon and Linfield and ended with defeats to Wolves and Lincoln City, earlier the Rovers visited Stockport County successful the EFL Cup archetypal circular past play and progressed, drafting 1-1 successful mean clip acknowledgment to Alfie May's opener, which was rapidly cancelled out, and prevailing successful the pursuing punishment shootout.

With definite origin for optimism and the hopes of gathering connected an eventual comfy mid-table decorativeness successful 2025-26, Doncaster Rovers volition again look to travel retired connected apical successful an early-season travel to Mansfield.

Mansfield Town signifier (all competitions):

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Doncaster Rovers signifier (all competitions):

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Team News

Mansfield Town should tract a akin starting XI from their cupful necktie past weekend, with Luke Bolton inactive retired with an wounded suffered successful March.

Key attacker Will Evans did depart implicit the summer, but the Stags person strengthened successful onslaught with the captures of experienced duo Michael Smith and David McGoldrick, who started connected debut connected Sunday aft netting 15 League One goals past word and 66 implicit the past 4 seasons crossed England's 3rd and 4th tiers.

He volition beryllium joined by either Smith oregon Tyler Roberts, portion Owen Dodgson has since arrived this week and whitethorn marque a debut connected the left-hand side.

Doncaster Rovers are inactive without Francis Okoronkwo, who has been sidelined since January.

They person besides seen respective notable squad changes implicit the summer, with cardinal antheral Luke Molyneux departing alongside Jordan Gibson, Billy Sharp, Ben Close, and James Maxwell, portion the likes of James Husband, Tommy Simkin, Leon Ayinde, Jordan Thomas and Isaac Hutchinson person arrived to bolster the ranks.

Alfie May has besides joined the Rovers, and helium volition pb their enactment again connected Saturday having scored connected debut past clip out, with Ayinde, Thomas and Hutchinson each hoping to proceed successful a new-look supporting cast.

Mansfield Town imaginable starting lineup:

Lewis; Oshilaja, Sweeney, Blake-Tracy; Akins, Russell, Reed, Hendry, Dodgson; Roberts, McGoldrick

Doncaster Rovers imaginable starting lineup:

Simkin; Sterry, Byrne, McGrath, Senior; Bailey, Broadbent; Thomas, Hutchinson, Adelakun; May

We say: Mansfield Town 2-1 Doncaster Rovers

Saturday's crippled should beryllium a choky 1 arsenic some teams look to get up and moving successful League One, and contempt the effect successful this fixture past play and their contrasting EFL Cup results, we springiness a flimsy borderline to Mansfield Town with location advantage.

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