After winning promotion from League Two last time around, the Stags enjoyed an eye-catching start to life in England’s third tier, amassing 23 points from their first 11 games to sit among the frontrunners, including picking up six victories from a seven-match span across September and October.
They have since failed to add another notch to their wins column in seven further attempts, though, beginning with a creditable draw at home to Birmingham City only to suffer five straight defeats, leaving empty-handed from meetings with Wrexham, Bristol Rovers, Wycombe Wanderers, Bolton Wanderers and Huddersfield Town.
Aiming to end that losing streak and begin climbing back towards the top six, Nigel Clough‘s side most recently faced a tough trip to Charlton Athletic on Saturday, and they were at least able to take a share of the spoils as the contest ended goalless at The Valley.
Now sitting 11th in League One despite their rapid start, trailing the playoff spots by six points and only leading 17th place by two, Mansfield Town will be desperate to correct their form and make a return to winning ways to stop their slide on Saturday.
Preview: Mansfield Town vs. Rotherham United – prediction, team news, lineups
The hosts have dropped down to 11th spot in the midst of a seven-match winless streak, while their visitors have climbed within touching distance of the top half with back-to-back wins.
After suffering four league defeats in a five-match span across October and November, Steve Evans‘s side sat deep in the bottom half on just 17 points from 16 outings, but they appear to have turned a corner since with consecutive third-tier wins for just the second time this term.
The Millers returned to winning ways by beating Lincoln City 2-1 on home turf, and after scraping past Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Trophy, they most recently hosted Northampton Town on Saturday and dished out a 3-0 beating thanks to Jonson Clarke-Harris‘s first-half brace and an Andre Green goal.
Having now rebuilt a degree of confidence with three victories on the bounce and moved within two points of League One’s top half and three points of the top 10, Rotherham United will aim to continue their improvement with another triumph at the weekend when Evans visits the side he managed between 2016 and 2018.
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