MK Dons got their League Two automatic promotion push back on track on Good Friday with a 2-1 win over Notts County. The success pushed them back up to third in the table, just one point behind second-placed Mansfield Town. Paul Tisdale’s side now host lowly Port Vale in their second game of the Easter Weekend, and picking up maximum points once again will certainly put them in good stead going into a tough final two games.
MK Dons Host Port Vale as League Two Season Nears Its Conclusion
Kicking On
MK Dons recorded a 2-0 win at Vale Park earlier in the season, and that win finally put to an end a dire run of form that had seen all of their early-season efforts go to waste. The Dons drew four of their five league games in September 1-1, with the other being a 2-1 loss at Lincoln City that, until the 94th minute, looked to be heading for a goal apiece too.
Four successive wins followed after the victory over Vale, and the side also ended October with a positive draw away at Mansfield – at the time, the two teams had the joint-best defences in the league.
Port Vale, meanwhile, were left down in 16th after October’s defeat, and things haven’t got much better for them since. In the immediate aftermath of that game, they lost away at Grimsby Town before being smashed 6-2 at home to Lincoln. Three more league wins in 2018 followed, and they currently have five so far in 2019, leaving them in 19th but ten points clear of the drop.
Head to Head
MK Dons have an extremely even record against the Valiants. Of the 12 games they have faced each other in, the Dons have won four, drawn four and lost four.
The aforementioned success earlier in the season was the first over Vale since a 1-0 win at Stadium MK in 2014, and the Dons also came out on top at Vale Park two weeks prior to that in a 4-3 FA Cup win.
The first meeting came back in 2004 when Vale recorded a 3-2 victory, and the two games that followed finished 1-1 and 0-0 respectively.
Prediction
History would suggest another tight game will ensue on Easter Monday, and that’s probably what form for both sides would suggest too. Taking away a four-goal defeat to Stevenage on Friday, and obviously the previously mentioned heavy defeat to Lincoln, Port Vale don’t concede many. Of all the teams in the bottom half, only Oldham Athletic have conceded fewer times.
As well, the Dons haven’t been known for piling on the goals this season. Their heaviest win by far was the 6-0 win over Cambridge United in January, but rather than consistently hitting teams for high numbers, they have scored in most of their games played to quietly creep up the scoring charts.
Prior to the home loss against Lincoln at the start of April, the last time they failed to find the net in a league game was against Grimsby in January.
Port Vale don’t concede many, MK Dons aren’t exactly free-scoring. However, given their places in the table and the prize at stake, it should be a comfortable afternoon.
Prediction: MK Dons 2-0 Port Vale
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