Our prediction for this League 2 match:
Saturday’s football game at Plough Lane pits together AFC Wimbledon and Mansfield Town, the two teams who were beaten by Stevenage and Salford City in their last league fixtures. The Dons sit in 15th place in the standings with 42 points on their account, and, as things stand now, they will find it hard to book their spot in the playoffs. Lee Brown limped off with injury in the midweek defeat, with George Marsh likely to step up.
The Yellows, on the other hand, failed to extend their winning run to four games, but a win over AFC Wimbledon will see them climb to the playoffs berth. Since Mansfield will go for a win in Saturday’s encounter as well, we are tempted to put our money on both teams to score. Callum Johnson is widely expected to return to Mansfield’s starting XI.
Highlighted Player (Chris Gunter):
After spending one and a half season at Cardiff City, Chris Gunter signed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur on 1 January, 2008. However, he did not play an important role in the team during the second half of the 2007/2008 Premier League campaign, making just two league appearances for the White Hart Lane outfit.
Seeing that he was not considered first-team regular in the 2008/2009 season as well, Gunter decided to join Nottingham Forest on Loan in March, 2009. Four months later he signed a permanent deal with the Reds and he stayed at the club until July 2012, when he completed a move to Reading. The Wales international signed a three-year deal with the Royals and he quickly established himself as a first-team regular. It has to be noted that he made 44 league appearances for the club in the 2015/2016 Championship campaign.
Chris Gunter was born in Newport, Wales on 21 July, 1989 and he made his debut for the Welsh national team in a friendly match against New Zealand on 26 May, 2007, while helping the Dragons reach the Euro 2016 semis in France.
Highlighted Team (Mansfield):
Founded in 1897, Mansfield Town are a professional club that compete in the League 2, the English fourth tier. The Stags are well known for their yellow shirts and blue shorts, while the colour of their away kit is black. Field Mill is the club’s home ground, the stadium with the capacity of 9,186.
The venue was built back in 1861 and renovated in 1999. Chesterfield and Notts County are regarded as the club’s fiercest rivals. Mansfield Town did well to win the Football League Trophy in 1986/1987 season, with the team beating Bristol City on penalties at Wembley Stadium.
The two teams played out a 1-1 draw in the regular time, with Kevin Kent and Glyn Riley scoring for Mansfield Town and Bristol City respectively. Goalkeeper Rod Arnold is the player with most appearances as he played 513 games for the Stags in all competitions.