Marcus Braddock looks ahead to the weekends game with MK Dons
With all the F.A. Cup nonsense out of the way, it's time to concentrate solely on our League One campaign. Our first step on that journey is the visit of Milton Keynes Dons in Skybet League One. Currently occupying 19th position, MK started the season pretty well with a home win against us, the first of four wins in the first month of the season. However, from mid-September to mid-December their best results were a 0-0 at home to Coventry and an away draw at Doncaster. Since then, results seem to have improved with five wins and three draws in their last eleven league games. Their last two games were both home wins so they should be in a positive, confident mood.
The main problem for MK has been that they don't collect enough away points with just six points from thirteen games on the road. Their solitary away win in League One was a 3-0 at Blackpool although they have won away in the cups a couple of times too.
Head to Head
We've only played each other fifteen times with Town winning three times and MK winning seven. The last time we beat them was back in 2013 in League One when we won 3-2 in Milton Keynes. Our other two victories against them came in the 2006/7 season when we won 2-1 at home in League Two and later the same season when we won our away play-off semi-final 2-1 with a brace from Andy Cooke.
Clean Sheets
Five at home and one away from home.
Assists
Jordan Houghton 3
Goalscorers (cup goals in brackets)
Rhys Healy 7 (1)
Sam Nombe 2 (3)
Alex Gilbey 4
Kieran Agard 2 (2)
Joe Mason 3 (1)
Stats
MK Dons have yet to score in the last fifteen minutes of any away game this season.
They average less than 0.5 goals in away games, scoring an average of 9.2 and conceding 1.54.
They've scored 20 away goals this season with 50% in each half with 67% of their goals scored in the second half.
Based on their last eight results, MKD have the 6th best form in League One with 14 points gained.
Referee
Peter Wright from Merseyside. League One games this season: 5. Yellow cards: 19. Red cards: 1. Mr Wright last took charge of a game at Montgomery Waters Meadow in the FL Trophy in mid-November. He gave three yellow cards to Macclesfield and one to Donald Love in the 90th minute.
Squad-news
MKD could be without strikers Carlton Morris and Rhys Healy but will certainly be without Joe Mason because of a muscle complaint.
Josh Vela has a muscle injury that will keep him out for a couple of weeks, Ollie Norburn is likely to miss out again.
Summary
Milton Keynes may have had a rough season so far but they've recently dragged themselves out of the relegation mire and will be looking at this weekend as an opportunity to climb higher and drag a rival backwards. Russell Martin's team beat a Rochdale team that recently beat us and also scored twice and kept a confidence-building , clean sheet at home to Wycombe last weekend. Ex-Town loanees Louis Thompson and Carlton Morris are both on loan with the Buckinghamshire club with both players making good starts to their stays.
Town have to address the recent slump in league form and have to do it without influential midfielder Ollie Norburn. Our form wasn't brilliant before we lost him but our run of draws has turned into a run of defeats since he Limped off against the World Champions. The performance last weekend at Rochdale was a decent one but we need to turn our opportunities into goals and points because they will come back to haunt you as Rochdale showed us.
COYB!!!
Marcus