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Match Previews

Preview: Rochdale

All you need to know ahead of tonight's Sky Bet League One clash...

21 February 2018

MK Dons hit the road this evening as they look to record their first win under Dan Micciche at Rochdale.

Micciche’s men suffered their fifth defeat in as many games on Saturday afternoon as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Charlton Athletic at Stadium MK. Prior to the clash, MK Dons tasted defeat against Oldham, Portsmouth, Walsall and Coventry respectively. 

The Dons currently occupy the third relegation spot, six points off safety, but do have a game in hand on most of their relegation rivals.

Kick-Off is 7:45pm.

Rochdale go into this evening's game in a confident mood after their impressive 2-2 draw with Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur in the Emirates FA Cup on Sunday.

Although holding five games in hand on some teams in the division, Dale sit bottom of the Sky Bet League One table having won just twice in their last 13 league games, losing eight and drawing three.

They are also winless in their last nine league clashes with the Dons and have conceding 21 goals in the process.

That said, Keith Hill's side have been hard to score against this campaign – they have only let in 40 league goals in 2018/19 which is less than all-but-one of the sides outside the top six in Sky Bet League One.

Goals either side of the half-time whistle from Charlton Athletic pair Ahmed Kashi and Josh Magennis saw MK Dons suffer defeat at Stadium MK last Saturday.

Kieran Agard pulled on back just a minute after Maggennis' goal, however, the Dons were unable to capitalise on the goal, eventually slipped to another frustrating defeat.

Rochdale enjoyed one of the Club's most historic results on Sunday afternoon as they drew 2-2 against Tottenham Hotspurs in the Emirates FA Cup earning a replay at Wembley in the process.

Ian Henderson sent The Crown Oil Arena into hysteria on the stroke of half-time as he calmly slotted past Michel Vorm on 45-minutes.

Lucas Moura equalised on the hour mark before just two minutes from time, Harry Kane looked to have secured Spurs' path into the Quarter-Finals. That was until Steven Davies popped up in the 93rd minute to level the scoring.

The Dons will be without Ed Upson, who joins Ethan Ebanks-Landell on the suspended list after collecting his 10th booking of the season. He will miss the next two matches while Ebanks-Landell serves the final game of his ban tonight.

Boss Micciche was coy about his injured quartet of Chuks Aneke, Peter Pawlett, Marcus Tavernier and Osman Sow in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday. All four missed the clash with Charlton Athletic at the weekend.

Alex Gilbey [knee], Joe Walsh [knee] and Scott Golbourne [hip] remain sidelined long-term, with only the latter expected back before the end of the season.

Rochdale will welcome back Scott Wiseman, Sam Hart, Alex Dobre and Billy Knott, who were all cup-tied for Sunday's with Tottenham in the Emirates FA Cup.

Steve Davies is not expected to start tonight while Calvin Andrew has been battling an Achilles problem. Niall Canavan and Keith Keane are definitely out.

Ross Joyce will referee the Dons tonight - he last officiated the Dons back in December during their 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury.

The Cleveland-official has taken charge of 32 matches this season, in total, he has produced 120 yellow cards and made just one dismissal.

His assistant referees this afternoon are Alix Pashley and Craig Taylor while the fourth official is Duncan Street.

Dons wins: 7
Dons wins at The Crown Oil Arena: 4
Last Dons wins: 3-2, 16 Sep 2017 (Stadium MK)
Biggest Dons win: 4-1, 28 Apr 2012 (The Crown Oil Arena)

Draws: 3
Draws at The Crown Oil Arena: 0
Last draw: 2-2, 11 Mar 2017 (Stadium MK)

Rochdale wins: 3
Rochdale wins at The Crown Oil Arena: 2
Last Rochdale win: 1-0, 26 Jan 2008 (Stadium MK)
Biggest Rochdale win: 5-0, 27 Jan 2007 (The Crown Oil Arena)

Result
Rochdale win: 10/11
Draw: 12/5
Dons win: 16/5

First goalscorer
Ian Henderson: 9/2
Matt Done: 5/1
Steve Davies: 5/1
No goalscorer: 9/1
Kieran Agard: 6/1
Ike Ugbo: 7/1
Robbie Muirhead: 17/21

Scorecast
Ike Ugbo to score first and MK Dons to win 2-1 – 60/1

Sky Bet tip
MK Dons to win, Both Teams to Score, 12+ match corners and 50+ match booking points – 60/1

All odds correct at the time of writing.

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Supporters living outside the UK can watch the match LIVE with an iFollow MK Dons Season/Monthly Pass or by purchasing a Match Pass – click HERE for more information!

iFollow MK Dons will have also live commentary of the game for UK-based fans – click HERE to sign up for as little as £4.49 for a month.

Supporters can also stay in touch with the Dons via mkdons.com’s Match Centre, which can be accessed by visiting the home page from 1pm.

There will also be full coverage on the Club’s social media channels – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat!

A full match report will be available to view on mkdons.com straight after the final whistle.

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Tickets for tonight's clash with Rochdale are only available to buy from the Crown Oil Arena are priced at £22 adults, £16 seniors/under-22s and £5 under-17s while under-3s go FREE.

 


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