The new look League Cup kicks off this coming Tuesday, with the 72 Football League teams looking to make it into round two. Karl Robinson’s MK Dons will be one side looking to do better this time around, after being thrashed 6-0 by Premier League Southampton is last season’s third round.
Their first fixture in the competition this season will be a trip to South Wales to take on Warren Feeney’s Newport County. The Exiles will be looking to cause an upset in their first fixture against the Dons. However, this one could just be beyond them.
Opposition Analysis: Newport County vs MK Dons
Tuesday’s opposition struggled last season, barley surviving League Two after finishing 22nd. Scott Boden was their top scorer with 15 in all competitions. They will be without him against the Dons though after a summer transfer to Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Also missing for The Exiles will be forward Lenell John-Lewis, who picked up a serious knee injury in pre-season.
Newport won just ten times in the league last season, once more than the visitors. However in that season there was a whole division between the two teams, showing there is still a large gulf in class.
One man who will be hoping to prove that gulf isn’t so big is Newport’s Mark Randall. Randall was part of the Dons squad during their 2015-16 campaign, but had his contract terminated during the January transfer window. The midfielder subsequently joined Barnet, but was released at the end of the campaign. Newport have now picked up the midfielder, and he will he hoping that his second appearance for the club will be against his former team and hometown club.
The Dons will be hoping to break through a defence that was shaky to say the least last season. Newport have acquired some new players in defence, none of which cost any money. Jazzi Barnum-Bobb, Dan Butler, Scot Bennett, Jamie Turley and Paul Bignot have all joined in an attempt to sure up the defence. However the lack of spending suggests that it could still be a fairly simple task for the Dons attack.
The two sides also had different opening days. Newport started out their campaign with a narrow home loss to Mansfield Town in which they lost 3-2, while the Dons ran out 1-0 winners away at Shrewsbury Town.
While this game should be a routine task for a Dons side looking to bounce straight back to the Championship, it’s a prime chance for Karl Robinson to test some younger players in the squad. If this were given be the case, the teams could be matched a lot closer than they appear on paper. Either scenario is a big possibility, so it’s set to be a very interesting game.
