Burton Albion host Mansfield Town at the Pirelli Stadium on 19 September 2026, a League One Gameweek 7 fixture that looks as tight as the standings suggest, with kick off at 12:30 UK time. Burton sit 11th with eight points from six games while Mansfield are just below them in 17th with seven, both sides carrying the slightly frantic energy of teams that haven't yet worked out who they want to be this season.
Mansfield have taken zero points from their three away games, which makes this a more pointed fixture for Clough's men than the raw table implies. Burton, meanwhile, want to use the Pirelli as a base to climb the table rather than somewhere inconsistency follows them indoors.
Gary Bowyer took charge of Burton in December 2024, stepping in after Mark Robinson's exit via interim Tom Hounsell. Nigel Clough has been at Mansfield since November 2020, having recently extended through to 2027 and now entering his sixth season at the club. There is no documented head to head between the two managers, so whatever patterns exist belong to the clubs rather than the dugouts.
Burton come in on L D W L W from their last five, most recently beaten 3-0 at Oxford around 12 September, a loss that will concern Bowyer before another away fixture arrives. Mansfield's form line reads D L L W L, their last outing a 0-0 draw against Huddersfield where they held out with ten men.
Both squads are fully available, which Bowyer and Clough will welcome given how stretched League One squads can become by September. Burton have bolstered their options with centre back Curtis Tilt from Bradford, midfielder Charlie Webster and striker Matthew Dennis, all expected to start. Mansfield will line up with former Burton defender Ryan Sweeney at the back alongside George Maris and Louis Reed in midfield, with Will Evans leading the attack.
Burton tend to set up pragmatically, sometimes shifting between a back three and a flat four depending on what the game demands, with Webster driving transitions in midfield. Dennis will look to get in behind Mansfield's back line rather than hold up play and Tilt should anchor things defensively without being a liability on the ball. Mansfield under Clough are disciplined and hard to break down and set pieces are where they tend to do their most dangerous work, with Sweeney and Evans carrying enough aerial presence to punish any slack organisation from corners and free kicks. The Tilt vs Evans contest during transitions is worth watching, as is the Reed vs Webster midfield duel, which will probably determine who has more of the ball in the second half.
Burton are unbeaten in their last eight EFL meetings with Mansfield, winning four and drawing four. The most recent was a 2-1 Burton win in August 2025, followed by a 0-0 in April 2026 and Mansfield have found it persistently difficult to break them down across that run.
Burton should take the initiative at home, with Dennis getting in behind a Mansfield defence that will need to stay sharp throughout and Webster pulling strings from deep. The discipline Mansfield showed against Huddersfield and their set piece threat suggest Clough's side will take something from this though and the head to head pattern backs up the sense that they tend to make Burton work for everything. Their away day record at the Pirelli historically points to them claiming at least a point. Burton might lead at half time but Mansfield look capable of responding. Final score: 2-2.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
