Reading return to the Select Car Leasing Stadium this Saturday for a home game against Mansfield Town. Join us as we take a closer look at the opposition.
Form
Mansfield Town finished 17th in League One last season, eight points clear of the relegation zone, in their first season back in the third tier, following their promotion in 2024 when they finished third in League Two.
The Stags currently sit in 12th place in League One after four wins, two draws and four losses so far this season. Their recent form has been mixed, having seen one win, two draws and two losses in their last five games.
They come into this weekend’s game off the back of a 2-1 home win against Rotherham United, with American striker Dom Dwyer scoring a 90th-minute winner.
Reading claimed a double over Mansfield last season, winning 2-1 at the Select Car Leasing Stadium in the Royals’ final game of 2024, before claiming an impressive 5-1 away win at the One Call Stadium on Easter Monday. Jayden Wareham (x2), Lewis Wing and Billy Bodin were all on the scoresheet.
The boss
Nigel Clough: Clough became Mansfield manager in November 2020, taking over from Graham Coughlan, who spent just under a year in charge of The Stags. He had a 20-plus-year career as a player and was a forward who represented the likes of Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Manchester City and Burton Albion, while also picking up 14 caps for England.
Son of the legendary Brian Clough, Nigel followed in his father’s footsteps, taking up his first managerial role at Burton in 1998, where he became player-manager. He spent over 11 years at Burton, managing them in non-league.
Clough went on to join Derby County in January 2009, where he spent four and a half years managing them in the Championship. He then joined Sheffield United in 2013 before returning in 2015 to Burton, where his managerial journey had started. He guided Burton to the Championship in his first season, after finishing second in League One, and managed to keep them in the second tier for two seasons, before suffering relegation in 2018.
Clough left Burton in 2020 and went on to join Mansfield later that year. He led the Stags to promotion to League One in the 2023/24 season and guided them to a 17th-placed finish in their first season back in the third tier.
The 59-year-old is known to be a strong tactician who demands hard work from his sides.
Squad
It was a busy summer in Mansfield with 11 new players coming through the door at the One Call Stadium, with seven signing on permanent deals and four joining on loan.
Defensive reinforcements came in shape of free-transfer signings of goalkeeper Liam Roberts, formerly of Millwall; and defenders Ryan Sweeney and Kyle Knoyle; while right-back Luke Bolton joined from Wrexham. Their other permanent signings were the free transfers of midfielder Regan Hendry and forward Max Dickov, while midfielder Nathan Moriah-Welsh joined from Scottish side Hibernian for an undisclosed fee.
Three of their loans joined from Premier League Nottingham Forest, with midfielders Kyle McAdam and Jamie McDonnell and forward Joe Gardner all signing on season-long deals. Their other loan signing was forward Tyler Roberts, who joined from Championship Birmingham City.
Ryan Sweeney may return to the starting lineup after serving a suspension. Summer signing Bolton and Baily Cargill are both expected to miss out through injury.
Predicted lineup
Roberts, Knoyle, Oshilaja, Sweeney, McLaughlin, McDonnell, Lewis, Moriah-Welsh, Roberts, Oates, Evans
Key player
11. Will Evans: Forward Evans joined Mansfield last summer from Newport County for an undisclosed fee. He started his career in the youth setup at Shrewsbury Town but really kicked off his playing career in Wales, playing for the Cardiff Metropolitan University team while earning a degree there.
He joined Bala Town after university, where he stayed almost two years, before moving across to the English Football League with a switch to Newport County. Evans spent two seasons at Newport, making over a century of appearances, scoring 29 goals.
Evans has added a further 16 goals to his career tally since joining Mansfield last summer, with three of those coming this season. The Welshman also has one Wales C cap to his name.
Evans can play as a striker or winger but spent time playing as a right-back earlier on in his career. That makes him a versatile, hard-working option for the Stags.
One to watch
30. Jamie McDonnell: Midfielder McDonnell joined Mansfield this summer, signing a season-long loan deal from Premier League Nottingham Forest. He is a product of the Forest academy, having joined the club in 2020 after spending time at Lisburn Youth and Glentoran in his native Northern Ireland.
He signed his first professional deal with Forest in 2021, but he is awaiting his debut for the club. McDonnell got his first taste of first-team football during a loan spell at Colchester United last season, where he made 37 appearances, scoring one goal.
The 21-year-old has 11 Mansfield appearances to his name and has already doubled his scoring tally from last season.
The Northern Irishman has represented his country at every level from under-16 to under-21 and picked up his first cap for the men’s national team in September this year, coming on as a sub against Germany in a World Cup qualifier.
McDonnell is a defensive midfielder with a strong engine, who works tirelessly to win the ball back in the middle of the park.
Category: General Sports
