Mansfield Town vs Grimsby Town Predictions

Ambitions at the start of the season are a funny thing, most sides will be full of hope and will be looking at accomplishments beyond what many are expecting, whereas others may be on a downward spiral and the hint of doom and gloom around the place may mean they do not expect to accomplish much in the forthcoming campaign. This Tuesday’s clash between Mansfield Town and Grimsby Town, however, shows two sides who have proven not to be performing at the level most expected before a ball was kicked at the start of the season.

Just like last season, Mansfield were thought to be among the favourites to be challenging for the League Two title come the end of the season. However, they have once again suffered a start which has not met their expectations and they are already well off the pace set by the league leaders. Although the Stags have one of the best defensive records in the division, they still struggle to find the back of the net on a frequent enough basis to make them a threat and as a consequence, they are looking like a side who will only be able to make the play-offs.

This Saturday they face off against a Grimsby Town side who, although were tipped to be among the sides fighting against relegation, are doing better than most will have expected. Like their hosts, the Mariners also struggle to find the back of the net and the ten goals they have managed this term is the lowest in the division. It’s not as if they are improving either as they have managed to score just once in their previous five league matches.

With the lack of strike power demonstrated by both of these sides so far this season, it shouldn’t come as a shock to anybody to learn that we do not expect this fixture to keep the fans on the edge of their seats. A dull, low scoring match appears to be a near guarantee and given that Grimsby’s last six matches have seen less than 2.5 goals scored, we have every confidence that backing the same thing to happen again is the way to go.

We are not done there though, as the hosts should hold the edge in this one. The Stags will be keen to take advantage of their game in hand and following a disappointing result at the weekend, they will be looking to take all three points this time around. This, combined with the fact that Grimsby have lost five of their eight away matches in the league leads us to believe that backing a home win, and combining it with our initial tip of less than 2.5 goals is an excellent way to earn an increased return.