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Match Previews

Match preview: Stags vs Forest

21 July 2017

Match Previews

Match preview: Stags vs Forest

21 July 2017

Mansfield Town welcome local rivals Nottingham Forest to One Call Stadium in their final home pre-season friendly on Saturday (3.00pm kick-off).

Manager Steve Evans is expected to utilise most of his squad throughout the match, with changes likely to take place at half-time.

"Having been in contact with Mark Warburton, the Nottingham Forest gaffer, earlier today, it's clear that we want to keep substitutions to a minimum in respect to the number of changes that take place throughout the 90 minutes," said boss Steve Evans.

"It goes without saying that both teams will be likely to change at half time and make a couple [of changes] in and around the 60 to 70 minute mark.

"For Mark and myself, it will be most important that we have continuity of play and not a game littered with second half substitutions every few minutes.

"This was something that we put in place for our mid-week fixture at home to Middlesbrough, which Garry Monk and myself thought worked very well."

Forest are expected to field a strong line-up in their second pre-season friendly. 

A number of first team players missed Wednesday's victory over Notts County but the likes of midfielders Chris Cohen and David Vaughan and defender Michael Mancienne are expected to play some part. 

Every first team player has been utilised by the Stags in their four pre-season fixtures so far. 

The new-look Stags' first match was during the pre-season tour of Malta in which Steve Evans' men triumphed 5-0 over a Malta Players' Association XI thanks to goals from striker Danny Rose, midfielders Will Atkinson and Paul Digby and a brace from frontman Lee Angol. 

Back on home soil, Stags were defeated 3-2 by a strong Sheffield Wednesday side at One Call Stadium, with defenders George Taft and Rhys Bennett getting on the scoresheet against the Owls. However, goals from Jordan Rhodes, Tom Lees and Lucas Joao sealed the victory for the visitors. 

Boss Steve Evans then gave nine members of his first team squad 90 minutes for the first time as they won 4-0 against Evo-Stik side Stocksbridge Park Steels. Braces from striker Danny Rose and winger CJ Hamilton clinched the victory for the Stags in South Yorkshire. 

Just 24 hours later, a completely different Stags' XI took on Premier League hopefuls Middlesbrough, in a match which finished in an entertaining 2-2 draw. 

Stags raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to an own goal by Jonny Howson and a cool finish by striker Lee Angol, but Boro hit back through Dael Fry and Mikael Soisalo. 

Forest have only played one pre-season friendly so far, which ended in a 2-0 victory over near-neighbours Notts County.

The two sides were locked at 0-0 at the break, but second half goals from strikers Ben Brereton and Apostolos Vellios ensured Mark Warburton's men began their schedule with a victory. 

Prior to the match at Meadow Lane, Forest spent two weeks in Florida at a warm-weather training camp.

The referee for the fixture will be Mark Heywood and he will be assisted by Steve Meredith and Dave Plowright. Ken Hughes will undertake fourth official duties. 

Mr Heywood's last match in charge of the Stags was our 4-4 draw with Accrington Stanley in February. 

Stags' fans can purchase tickets both in advance and on the day. 

Our ticket office on Quarry Lane will be open until 5.00pm today for supporters to purchase tickets either in person or via telephone (01623 482482). 

Advanced prices are as follows: 
Adults: £10
Concessions: £5

Tickets for home fans will also be available on the day, but will be subject to a slight price increase. 

Matchday prices: 
Adults: £12
Concessions: £6

Stags' fans can also purchase tickets online from www.stagstickets.co.uk and will be able to take advantage of the advance prices. 

Please note: the Quarry Lane End is not open for this fixture. 

Tickets for away supporters are sold out.

The Sandy Pate Sports Bar will be open from 9.00am on Saturday morning and they will be serving breakfast until 11.00am. 

Once breakfast finishes, supporters will be able to purchase food from the matchday menu, which includes: pies, hot dogs, burgers and chips. 

The bar will be serving food up until kick-off and the bar will be open from 9.00am. 

Furthermore, supporters with a ticket in the upper tier of the Ian Greaves Stand will be able to gain admission to the Kevin Bird Suite from 12.30pm. 

The bar in the suite will be serving an array of hot and cold drinks, including alcoholic beverages, until kick-off and at half-time. 

We'll be publishing live text commentary of the encounter on our twitter feed and on the match centre on mansfieldtown.net.

To access our twitter feed, head to twitter.com/mansfieldtownfc. The match centre can be accessed here, or by clicking the link on the home page on Saturday. 

Furthermore, iFollow Stags subscribers will be able to listen to full-match commentary of the clash, courtesy of commentators Martin Shaw and Dean Foulkes. 

A report of the match will be published on www.mansfieldtown.net after the game and full reaction will be available to view on mansfieldtown.net and iFollow Stags.


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