In the midst of their push to win promotion back to the Championship this season, Sheffield Wednesday began their FA Cup campaign with a first-round tie at home to Morecambe at the beginning of November, and they progressed with a 2-0 victory.
Josh Windass put them ahead on the half-hour mark, and Alex Mighten added a second in the 65th minute to book the Owls’ place in the next round.
Their other cup run would come to an end in the following encounter away at Premier League outfit Southampton, though, eventually dropping out of the EFL Cup in the third round following a penalty shootout defeat, after a commendable 1-1 draw in normal time.
Since then, Darren Moore’s side have continued their impressive form in England’s third tier, posting back-to-back victories in their fight for a place in the top two,
firstly beating Accrington Stanley on their travels before Mark McGuinnessnetted the only goal in a triumph at home to Shrewsbury Town last Saturday.
Having now cut the gap to the the automatic promotion spots to just a single point and the summit of the division to three points, the South Yorkshire outfit will briefly turn their attention away from the league and fight to book a place in the third round of the FA Cup.
Their visitors make the relatively short trip in the midst of a promotion fight of their own, with a disappointing defeat last time out seeing them drop outside of the playoff places in League Two.
The Stags also entered the FA Cup in the first round early in November, and they began with a trip to Barrow, eventually advancing with a 1-0 victory as Oliver Hawkins’s goal late in the first half proved to be the difference between the sides.
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Nigel Clough’s side find themselves in a tough run of league form, though, having now lost three of their last four matches in the fourth tier, including a 2-1 defeat at home to Bradford City after that cup triumph, before they returned to winning ways away at Rochdale Town thanks to George Maris’s second-half goal.
They now travel to Hillsborough on the back of another disappointing result in their fight for promotion, having been comfortably beaten 3-0 away at Harrogate Town last Saturday, as Alex Pattisonopened the scoring inside five minutes and Luke Armstrong netted a first-half brace.
With their dip in form causing a drop to eighth spot, Clough’s men will be keen to rebuild confidence with what would be a major upset away at third-tier opposition in Saturday’s cup tie, with the chance to progress to the third round and fight among Premier League and Championship sides.
