Mansfield Town vs Huddersfield Town Prediction: Terriers to continue hot streak

It's a super Saturday in League 1, with as many as 11 games taking place and here we are covering the match from Field Mill, as mis-firing Mansfield take on automatic-chasing Huddersfield (15:00).

Our resident Terrier Adam Roberts is on hand to preview this one and he's given us his Mansfield Town vs Huddersfield Town Prediction, as well as all the latest odds, stats and team news. 

Field Mill always holds a memorable place in my heart, alas not for very fond reasons...

It will be almost 23 years to the day since I travelled to a freezing cold Mansfield for a second round FA Cup tie to support the Terriers. We not only lost 4-0 in a dire performance but the hat-trick hero that day was a certain Christopher Greenacre, who I had the pleasure of going to the same school with in Normanton, West Yorkshire just six years prior. For any Huddersfield Town fan making the short 50-mile journey on Saturday, I hope they don't leave Nottinghamshire in the same level of rage that I did that very day.

It was a different type of calculated rage on show on Tuesday night, from Mansfield boss Nigel Clough, who publicly stated that he doesn't trust any of his players and it was only a matter of time before they would let you down. Yes, he was visibly seething after watching his side throw away a lead and a much-needed three points, with the needless sending off of goalscorer Hiram Boateng changing the game and leading to three late Bolton goals, but a strange admission to make nonetheless.

He has now watched his side give four good performances and yet lose all four matches to see Town plummet down the table into 10th spot, following a brilliant start to the season. They haven't won since the 22nd October in the third tier and now come up against one of the form teams in the division in Huddersfield Town.

The Terriers have now gone eight unbeaten in the league and picked up their seventh straight win at home in all competitions on Tuesday night, with a gritty but well-deserved win over Wigan Athletic. That win saw them leapfrog Stockport County into fourth spot and with their eyes firmly set on an automatic promotion charge.

Michael Duff also did his own calling out of certain members of the squad in his pre-match press conference, with their misfiring striking options taking the brunt of the criticism. Town are winning despite their forward line, not because of it. It is no secret to anyone who follows Huddersfield that one or two strikers are the main transfer target in the upcoming January window.

But can they continue to churn out positive results in the meantime? Saturday afternoon will give a solid indication of just how far they have come in the last couple of months.

Football Odds

Team news

Clough is without starting central midfielder Boateng after he was sent off for a second-yellow away at Bolton and now serves a one-match suspension. He could be replaced in the middle of the park by Aaron Lewis.

Duff's injury issues look to be easing with both right wing-back Lasse Sorensen and starting goalkeeper Lee Nicholls close to match-day fitness. He may be tempted to rotate his starting strikers though, after they again went goalless in midweek.

Mansfield vs Huddersfield Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Mansfield vs Huddersfield page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Mansfield are the 11/5 outsiders to pick up three points, giving them an implied win probability of just over 31%, while Huddersfield are the 21/20 favourites, or a 48.8% chance.

The draw is available at a price of 23/10, with both teams to score heavily fancied at 8/11 and over 2.5 goals at 10/11, so we're expecting some action in this one.

Leading Stags scorer Lee Gregory is shortest priced to score for Mansfield at 21/10 and despite being a complete no-hoper in front of goal this season, Bojan Radulovic is the favourite in the anytime scorer market at 2/1!

Huddersfield to win @ 21/20

Just as I wrote before the last away match at Leyton Orient, this will be far from a cakewalk for Huddersfield Town.

Mansfield are a tough, obdurate side and will take some serious breaking down. Only a moment of madness prevented them taking all three points against Wanderers and whilst the Terriers are playing well, they are not creating dozens of chances.

However, Duff has his side playing in a well organised manner and they look chock-full of confidence right now. I would take them to beat most sides in the division at the moment and against a side that are down on their luck and belief, I think it will only be a matter of time before that Stags back-line is eventually breached.

Huddersfield to win to nil @ 5/2

One of the reasons for Towns recent success is down to their well-drilled defence. The five at the back may have changed in recent weeks thanks to Matty Pearson and Mickel Miller's recent unfortunate injuries, but in has come Michal Helik to shore up the central three and Josh Koroma did a job at left wing-back in midweek.

Dutch youngster Nigel Lonwijk may have drawn immediate comparisons to his compatriot Virgil van Dijk when he joined on loan from Wolves at the start of the season but he certainly wasn't playing like him. However, in recent weeks he has been a colossus and it's not hard to see him playing in the top levels of English football from next season.

Huddersfield have long taken stick from their fans for being generous in front of their own goal, with #CantDefendWontDefend being a trending hashtag at times over the years. However, they now genuinely look hard to beat and have conceded just one goal in their last three games.

Couple that with Mansfield, who have scored just once in their last four and this looks like a really good value bet at 5/2. Perhaps the long-standing spectre of Chris Greenacre will finally fade from memory after Saturday...?

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