Mansfield Town vs Bromley Prediction

Right, so we've got Mansfield Town hosting Bromley on 10 October, and if you've been following either side's recent outings, you'll know this is a game where the goals might be the scarcest thing in the building.

Mansfield have been a bit of a nightmare to watch lately. Three losses and two draws in their last five, and they've only managed two goals in that stretch. The 0-5 defeat at Reading on 2 September still stings, and the 0-2 loss at Port Vale just four days ago shows they're still finding their feet. At home though, over their last 20 games, they've picked up 7 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses, scoring 1.65 a game and keeping 7 clean sheets. That's a solid home record, even if the last few weeks haven't been pretty.

Bromley aren't much better. Three losses, a win and a draw in their last five, with only four goals scored. The 0-4 loss at Crawley on 6 October and the 0-1 home defeat to Brentford U21 on 22 September have left them looking a bit rattled. Their away record over 20 games is actually a touch better than Mansfield's home one — 8 wins, 6 draws, 6 losses, 1.5 points per game — but the last two outings have been ugly.

Here's the thing that catches my eye: in Mansfield's last five games, four of them saw at least one team fail to score. In Bromley's last five, three of them did the same. That's seven out of ten recent games where one side went blank. At home, Mansfield have failed to score in 6 of their last 20, and Bromley have gone scoreless in 4 of their last 20 away. The venue numbers aren't screaming it, but the recent form is.

The counter-argument? Both teams do score in plenty of games. Mansfield's home record shows 11 of 20 games where both teams found the net, and Bromley's away record has 12 of 20. So it's not like either side is a complete blank. And with no head-to-head meetings on record, there's no history to lean on — this is a genuine unknown.

Key Points:

• Mansfield: 0W 2D 3L in last 5, scored just 2 goals, failed to score in 4 of 5

• Bromley: 1W 1D 3L in last 5, scored just 4 goals, failed to score in 3 of 5

• 7 of the last 10 games for either side saw at least one team go blank

• No head-to-head meetings on record — a genuine unknown

• Both teams' venue records show moderate BTTS rates (55% and 60% yes)

My pick is both teams not to score at 2.2. The recent form is telling you one side is going to go blank, and that price offers a decent return for that read.