Sporting life's take on the game seems to favour Mansfield.
Everton vs Mansfield
Jimmy 'The Punt'
Everton’s first game at Bramley Moore could not have gone better. They beat
Brighton 2-0,
Jack Grealish sparkled on his full debut,
Iliman Ndiaye grabbed the stadium's first goal and
Jordan Pickford saved a penalty.
After the elation of Sunday’s performance they must rally for the visit of
League One’s Mansfield.
This one has a whiff of the night after the lord mayor's show.
Jack Grealish and James Garner celebrate Everton's second goal in the win over Brighton
At his previous club West Ham, David Moyes’ record in his side's first game of this competition was good, especially against lower league opposition. They played three, won two, lost one on penalties, scored six and kept two clean sheets.
The man in the visitors dugout, Nigel Clough, is a bit of a cup connoisseur though. His sides often punch above their weight and crucially, he often fields strong XI’s.
In his first full season at
MANSFIELD, his side made it to the third round of the FA Cup, beating Sunderland and Doncaster before losing to a 90th own goal against Middlesbrough.
In the 2022/23 season, they ran higher league opposition Derby and Sheffield Wednesday close in both cup competitions. The following season they made it to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup and the third round of the FA Cup in 2024/25.
At Burton, Clough’s side made the semi-finals of this competition, beating Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Middlesbrough along the way before falling short against Manchester City (10-0 aggregate). The following season, the Brewers also made the fourth round of this competition and the FA Cup.
At Sheffield United, then of League One, Clough’s Blades graced both the FA Cup semi-finals and the League Cup semi-finals.
A longwinded explanation, but Clough is definitely a manager with Cup pedigree.
At 14/1
TO WIN and 7/2
WIN-OR-DRAW DOUBLE CHANCE, I think a Mansfield scalp is worth a punt.
It is worth noting that if the game is level at 90 minutes, this goes straight to penalties which gives the outsiders extra incentive to hang on for a result.
