It's a big weekend ahead in Sky Bet League Two! See what's to come with all the key stats and facts...
Bradford City v Mansfield Town
- Bradford have won five of their last seven league meetings with Mansfield (L2), as many as in the previous 24 Football League encounters (D8 L11).
- Mansfield beat Bradford 2-0 in this exact fixture last season, and are looking to win on consecutive league visits to Valley Parade for the first time since January 1982 (run of 3).
- Both of Bradford’s last two league games have finished 0-0; the Bantams have never had three successive goalless draws in their Football League history.
- Mansfield have the oldest average starting XI age of any side in League Two this season (28 years, 328 days), while the Stags have made more starting XI changes (72) than any side in this season’s competition.
Carlisle United v Harrogate Town
- Carlisle are yet to beat Harrogate at home in the Football League (D1 L1), losing this exact fixture last season 2-0.
- Harrogate have won three of their five Football League games against Carlisle (D2); they haven’t faced a side more often without losing (also 5 games against Mansfield).
- Carlisle have won each of their last four league games, and last won five on the spin in January 2019 (run of six).
- After three clean sheets in their first four league games of the season, Harrogate have only recorded two shutouts in the 22 games since, with them conceding in each of their last seven league contests (W2 D2 L3).
Colchester United v Barrow
- Colchester have lost each of their last two league games against Barrow; they’ve never lost three successive Football League games against the Bluebirds before.
- Barrow have won on two of their last three Football League visits to Colchester (D1), having failed to win on any of their first four such trips (D2 L2).
- Colchester have picked up more points in eight league games since Christmas (16) than they had in their first 21 matches of the league campaign beforehand (14).
- Barrow have only won one of their last nine away league outings (D3 L5), a 3-2 win at Mansfield in January.
Crewe Alexandra v Grimsby Town
- Crewe have beaten Grimsby in 10 of their last 13 Football League encounters (L3), with the last league draw between these two sides coming in January 2000.
- Grimsby have lost on each of their last six Football League trips to Crewe, failing to score in five of those games and conceding 17 times.
- Crewe have drawn each of their last three league games, while they last drew four in a row in the Football League in September 2012.
- Grimsby have lost each of their last five away league outings; they had won five of their previous six away league matches before this (D1).
Doncaster Rovers v Hartlepool United
- Doncaster have lost each of their last two league games against Hartlepool, last losing more consecutively against them in the Football League in May 1984 (run of four).
- Hartlepool have won just one of their prior 12 Football League games away to Doncaster (D3 L8), a 1-0 victory in August 2005 with Jon Daly netting the winner.
- None of the 72 EFL sides have kept fewer clean sheets at home in the league in 2022-23 than Doncaster (one in 12 matches).
- No League Two side has kept fewer away clean sheets (one) or conceded more away goals (29) than Hartlepool United this season.
Gillingham v Crawley Town
- Gillingham are unbeaten in each of their last four league games against Crawley (W2 D2), having lost two of the first three encounters (W1).
- Crawley have won, drawn and lost on their three previous trips to Gillingham in the Football League, with neither side scoring more than once in each fixture.
- Gillingham are unbeaten in three league games (W2 D1), earning as many points in this run as they had in their previous 13 league fixtures beforehand (7).
- Crawley Town are the only EFL side yet to win an away league game this season (P12 W0 D6 L6). Since League Two began in 2004-05, only two sides have ever failed to win any of their first 13 away games of a season in the division – Cambridge United in 2004-05 (first 22) and Stevenage in 2019-20 (first 13).
Leyton Orient v AFC Wimbledon
- Leyton Orient are yet to beat AFC Wimbledon in the Football League (D1 L2), losing each of the last two meetings without scoring.
- AFC Wimbledon have won three of their last four games against Leyton Orient in all competitions (L1), with their only defeat coming away to the O’s in the Football League Trophy in October 2020 (2-0).
- Leyton Orient’s Lawrence Vigouroux has the highest save percentage (78.8%) of any goalkeeper with 10 or more appearances in League Two this season, while his ratio of goals conceded (excl. own goals) to expected goals on target faced is also the best of any League Two goalkeeper this term (+6.7 – 16 goals conceded from 22.7 xGoT faced).
- AFC Wimbledon have only lost one of their last 14 league games (W7 D6), a 1-2 defeat at Sutton United on New Year’s Day.
Newport County v Swindon Town
- Newport have lost two of their last three league games against Swindon (W1), as many as in the previous 11 such encounters (W5 D4).
- Swindon beat Newport 2-1 in this exact fixture last season; the Robins last beat the Exiles in consecutive away trips in the Football League in May 1935 (run of three).
- Newport are winless in their last six league games (D4 L2), last enduring a longer such run in January 2021 (run of eight).
- This will be Jody Morris’ first league game in charge of Swindon - including caretakers, three of the last four managers have won their opening league game.
Northampton Town v Walsall
- Northampton have only won two of their last eight home Football League games against Walsall (D1 L5), beating the Saddlers 2-0 in September 2016 and 2-1 in December 2017.
- Seven of the last eight meeting between Northampton and Walsall in the Football League have been victories by a one-goal margin (Northampton two wins, Walsall five wins), with the only draw coming in this exact fixture last season (1-1).
- This is just Northampton’s second home league game of 2023, with the Cobblers looking to win successive such games for the first time since September (run of three).
- Walsall have only won one of their last four league games (D1 L2), and are hoping to avoid suffering back-to-back league defeats for the first time since September, after losing 1-0 at Salford last time out.
Salford City v Rochdale
- Salford have failed to beat Rochdale in the Football League (D2 L1), losing the reverse fixture in November 1-0.
- Rochdale have only lost one of their last 10 Football League games against fellow sides from Greater Manchester (W4 D5), losing 1-0 to Oldham in September 2021.
- Salford have won each of their last three home league games; they have never won four in a row on home soil in League Two before.
- Rochdale have lost eight of their last 11 league games (W1 D2), including each of the last three, though their only victory in that time came on the road against Bradford in January (2-1).
Stockport County v Tranmere Rovers
- Stockport have won just one of their previous 14 games against Tranmere in the Football League (D6 L7), a 1-0 victory in October 2009 under Gary Ablett.
- Tranmere are unbeaten in each of their last six Football League trips to Stockport (W2 D4) since a 2-1 defeat in August 1999.
- Stockport have kept a clean sheet in five of their last six home league games (W4 D1 L1), although lost the one game in which they conceded in this run 1-2 to Leyton Orient in November.
- Tranmere have only lost one of their six league games since Christmas (W3 D2), a 0-1 defeat at Crewe on New Year’s Day.
Sutton United v Stevenage
- Sutton beat Stevenage 2-1 in their only previous Football League meeting at the VBS Community Stadium, with Richie Bennett scoring a brace for them.
- The three previous Football League games between Sutton and Stevenage have seen 12 goals in total (4 per game), with Boro winning the reverse fixture 3-0 in October.
- Sutton United have won each of their last four home league games; only once before have they won five in a row at home in League Two, doing so in January 2022.
- Just 33% of Stevenage’s points this season in League Two have come away from home (18/55); only Crawley Town (24%) have a lower such ratio.
