The Dons face Chesterfield at stadiummk this evening looking to maintain their grip on second place in Sky Bet League 1.
Karl Robinson’s side are above Preston North End on goal difference heading into tonight’s set of fixtures, while Swindon Town are a point further back in fourth.
The men from MK1’s far superior goal difference is partly down to their impressive defensive record of late - in their last four outings at stadiummk, the men from MK1 are unbeaten and haven’t conceded a single goal.
The opposition
Chesterfield ended a run of four straight defeats with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Fleetwood Town this past weekend – a result which lifted them back into seventh and to within three points of sixth-placed Doncaster Rovers.
The Spireites, who lost top scorer Eoin Doyle to Cardiff City in the January Transfer Window, had struggled to find the goals prior to their triumph on Saturday, having netted just three times in five games and failing to score on three occasions.
View from the dugout
Karl Robinson: “We will continue to play well and work hard. We’ve got two really big games but we’re home and we love playing here - we love the feeling this place creates on a game day.
“I think two wins will cement the belief but we’re in a good place. We’re very open-minded to our performances being right and we’re really excited by the next two games. We’re frustrated still and we want to take it out on the football pitch.”
Paul Cook: "They're a very strong team. We've done great down there twice this year, they've been really good wins for us because we have respect for them and the quality they have in their team.
"They're a very strong team. It's a massive challenge for us to go there and win three times. They've got good players and they don't want us coming down there and winning again."
Team news
David Martin remains sidelined with a thigh injury so Ian McLoughlin looks set to deputise in goal once again – the Irishman has kept two clean sheets in the four games he has played in Martin’s recent absence.
Meanwhile, new signing Joe Walsh could make his debut after joining on loan from Crawley Town while Lewis Baker, who featured as a XXth minute substitute on the weekend, will be pushing for a first Dons start.
Dele Alli (ankle), Dean Bowditch (hamstring) and Mark Randall (abdominal) remain out.
Chesterfield will be without left back Dan Jones (ankle) after he limped out of the victory over Fleetwood Town while Gary Roberts (hamstring) continues to work towards full match fitness.
Paul Cook has confirmed that on-loan Sheffield Wednesday striker Caolan Lavery will retain his place after scoring on the weekend.
Head to head
Tonight will be the fourth meeting between the two sides this season due to the FA Cup tie between the pair.
Although the Spireites won both FA Cup clashes, it was the Dons who ran out victors in the league fixture back in August – all three games finished with a 1-0 scoreline.
In total, the two teams have played each other 11 times with the men from MK1 coming out on top on four occasions.
Betting
Sky Bet
Result:
MK Dons win – 3/4
Draw – 11/4
Chesterfield win – 7/2
First goalscorer:
MK Dons – Will Grigg, Devante Cole – 5/1
Chesterfield – Byron Harrison, Caolan Lavery – 8/1
Scorecast:
Will Grigg to score first and MK Dons to win 3-1 – 45/1
The men from MK1’s far superior goal difference is partly down to their impressive defensive record of late - in their last four outings at stadiummk, the men from MK1 are unbeaten and haven’t conceded a single goal.
The opposition
Chesterfield ended a run of four straight defeats with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Fleetwood Town this past weekend – a result which lifted them back into seventh and to within three points of sixth-placed Doncaster Rovers.
The Spireites, who lost top scorer Eoin Doyle to Cardiff City in the January Transfer Window, had struggled to find the goals prior to their triumph on Saturday, having netted just three times in five games and failing to score on three occasions.
View from the dugout
Karl Robinson: “We will continue to play well and work hard. We’ve got two really big games but we’re home and we love playing here - we love the feeling this place creates on a game day.
“I think two wins will cement the belief but we’re in a good place. We’re very open-minded to our performances being right and we’re really excited by the next two games. We’re frustrated still and we want to take it out on the football pitch.”
Paul Cook: "They're a very strong team. We've done great down there twice this year, they've been really good wins for us because we have respect for them and the quality they have in their team.
"They're a very strong team. It's a massive challenge for us to go there and win three times. They've got good players and they don't want us coming down there and winning again."
Team news
David Martin remains sidelined with a thigh injury so Ian McLoughlin looks set to deputise in goal once again – the Irishman has kept two clean sheets in the four games he has played in Martin’s recent absence.
Meanwhile, new signing Joe Walsh could make his debut after joining on loan from Crawley Town while Lewis Baker, who featured as a XXth minute substitute on the weekend, will be pushing for a first Dons start.
Dele Alli (ankle), Dean Bowditch (hamstring) and Mark Randall (abdominal) remain out.
Chesterfield will be without left back Dan Jones (ankle) after he limped out of the victory over Fleetwood Town while Gary Roberts (hamstring) continues to work towards full match fitness.
Paul Cook has confirmed that on-loan Sheffield Wednesday striker Caolan Lavery will retain his place after scoring on the weekend.
Head to head
Tonight will be the fourth meeting between the two sides this season due to the FA Cup tie between the pair.
Although the Spireites won both FA Cup clashes, it was the Dons who ran out victors in the league fixture back in August – all three games finished with a 1-0 scoreline.
In total, the two teams have played each other 11 times with the men from MK1 coming out on top on four occasions.
Betting
Sky Bet
Result:
MK Dons win – 3/4
Draw – 11/4
Chesterfield win – 7/2
First goalscorer:
MK Dons – Will Grigg, Devante Cole – 5/1
Chesterfield – Byron Harrison, Caolan Lavery – 8/1
Scorecast:
Will Grigg to score first and MK Dons to win 3-1 – 45/1
