We turn our attentions to Saturday's game with a full and in-depth preview of Mansfield Town's visit to The Dunes Hotel Stadium.
Barrow v Mansfield Town
Saturday 22nd January 2022, 3pm
The Dunes Hotel Stadium
Sky Bet League Two
In Opposition
After an inconsistent start to the campaign, Mansfield Town found their feet in spectacular fashion at the end of October and have stormed up the League Two table since then.
Nigel Clough’s men will be high on confidence ahead of their weekend visit to The Dunes Hotel Stadium having won six in a row and nine of their last ten league games.
The stunning run has lifted Town from the bottom two to the top seven and hopes will be high among Stags fans that they can now challenge for a return to the third tier for the first time in almost 20 years.
They were frustrated in their bid to maintain momentum in midweek when their long trip to Forest Green Rovers was abandoned after only a few minutes due to heavy fog.
One To Watch
Rhys Oates has run into some great form in recent weeks and has started to deliver the goals that were expected when he made a summer move to Mansfield Town.
The front man spearheaded Hartlepool United’s charge back to the EFL last season but turned down the offer of a new deal at Victoria Park in order to seal a switch to The Stags.
After scoring just once in the opening three months of the season, livewire Oates has now found the net five times in his last ten outings as Mansfield stormed up the League Two table.
Head To Head
The Bluebirds have enjoyed three successive wins over Mansfield Town since making their return to the Football League at the beginning of last season.
Indeed, last term’s 4-2 success at One Call Stadium was Barrow’s first victory at Football League level since their final season back in 1972.
Mark Cooper’s men won again when they went there earlier this season and will therefore be aiming to complete their first league double of the campaign when they host The Stags on Saturday.
Referee
Samuel Barrott will be on duty at The Dunes Hotel Stadium for the second time this season when he’s on the whistle for our clash with Mansfield Town.
The official was also in the middle here back in November when he oversaw the disappointing home defeat to Crawley Town in League Two.
The official, now into his second season on the EFL's list of referees, was last on duty at The Globe Arena on Tuesday night when Wigan Athletic ran out 2-1 winners over Morecambe in League One.
Tickets
Tickets for Saturday’s game are available in advance online and from The Dunes Hotel Stadium which will remain open until 4pm on Friday.
On the day of the game, tickets will be available from 10am from Main Reception (card payment only) and from the Ticket Booth in the Fan Zone from 12noon (cash and card payment).
Click here for all the information you need on buying tickets for Saturday’s game.
Live Streaming
There will be no live stream for fans living in the UK due to the restrictions around Saturday afternoon broadcasting.
However, fans who live abroad will be able to access live footage as normal and can pick up their International Video Match Pass right now for just £10.
Click here to add your Match Pass ahead of kick-off.
Live Commentary
iFollow is the only place that fans can listen to live online commentary of every game this season as we continue our link-up with our friends at BBC Radio Cumbria.
Fans will be able to listen to expert Bluebirds commentator Adam Johnson, who will be joined by John Goodwin to describe all the action as it unfolds against Mansfield Town.
You can purchase an Audio Match Pass for £2.50, an Audio Monthly Pass for £4.49 or sign-up for Audio Season Pass which provides all live commentary and video news for just £45.
Click here now to subscribe to iFollow.
Betting
The bookies are on the fence about Saturday’s game with both Barrow and Mansfield Town rated 8/5 shots for victory and a draw priced up at 9/4 with our friends at Sky Bet.
Click here now to take a look at a full list of markets ahead of this weekend’s game.