Exeter City vs Mansfield Town Predictions

They say that the season is a marathon and not a sprint, and although form comes and goes, when the season reaches its conclusion sides rarely finish in a position that their quality does not deserve. This weekend sees two sides face off who both hope to be playing their football in League One next season as play-off chasing Exeter City face off against automatic promotion hopefuls Mansfield Town.

After losing the previous two play-off finals in a row, Exeter City will certainly class themselves as experts in how to get into the end of season shoot-out. The Grecians have struggled to find the back of the net on a regular basis for much of the campaign, a fact which was not helped by the departure of their top scorer Jayden Stockley in January, but their solid defence has put them firmly in the running for the top seven. With the hosts also going into this clash on the back of a few good results, they will certainly be confident in their ability to claim another three points on Saturday.

Speaking of momentum, the recent form of Mansfield Town suggests that they are starting to run out of steam and, given that games are starting to run out, it is a blip which may prove to be the final nail in the coffin of their automatic promotion hopes. The Stags have failed to win in their last four outings and are three points behind the MK Dons, who currently occupy the last of the automatic promotion spots.

With the solid form of the hosts going into this fixture and the fact their visitors have failed to win their last five league matches away from Field Mill, we think that backing a home win makes the most sense. However, the head to head record has highlighted an unusual occurrence in this fixture as just one of the previous 11 meetings between these two sides has been won by the side playing at home. With this in mind, and the fact that Mansfield do possess the quality to turn in a performance out of the blue, we think it would be wise to add the safety net of the ‘Draw – No Bet’ clause on this bet.