MK Dons looked to have turned a corner in recent weeks after a five-game win streak, but a shock loss away at Morecambe, not helped by the violent weather, and a disappointing draw at home to Stevenage last week, has seen them drop back into the play-off places. The longer the season goes on, the more it seems everything is going to come down to the final day showdown at home to Mansfield Town, but to keep pace with the Stags, the Dons have to make sure they’re doing their jobs in other games, starting with Yeovil Town this weekend.
Three Points Vital For MK Dons Against Yeovil Town
Results Matter
With just eight games remaining in the season, we really are at the business end of the campaign. Dons manager Paul Tisdale has been patient up until now, repeating game after game that he and the squad are not worrying about the other teams in the league and are just focussing on themselves.
However, in an interview with the club’s website, Tisdale said: “We’re at that point in the season now. I’d be lying if I told you we weren’t looking at other results, and hoping one team beats another. We’re at that point where we stop talking just about our own performances and start looking at others, working out points.”
While the boss has also not ruled out a late surge for the summit of League Two, their immediate focus will be on Mansfield dropping points this weekend at home to Crewe Alexandra, assuming the Dons themselves acquire maximum points at home to Yeovil Town.
Past Meetings
MK Dons hold a slight edge over the Glovers in terms of past meetings, winning six, drawing five and losing five of the 16 games between them. The match earlier in the season at Huish Park finished in a 1-1 draw thanks to a late equaliser for the hosts, but it is the last league game before that that will live long in the memory of Dons fans.
The 5-1 victory on the last day of the 2014/15 season sealed promotion to the Championship for the first time for the side then managed by Karl Robinson, while Yeovil already had their relegation to League Two confirmed by that point.
Current league position would suggest one-way traffic this time around at Stadium MK. The Dons’ lofty position in the table is in stark contrast to Darren Way’s side, who sit only three points above the relegation zone; for a side that were in the second tier as recently as 2014, dropping out of the Football League altogether is a shocking possibility.
Prediction
For a team that score a lot of goals (the third highest in the league), hitting sides heavily hasn’t been a feature of the Dons’ game this season. They didn’t score three goals in a single league game until October’s win over Cheltenham Town, and have only gone on to score more than that twice; 4-0 against Crawley Town and 6-0 at home to Cambridge United.
Yeovil, contrary to their league position and to previous seasons, don’t have as leaky a defence as you might expect. However, their total of 36 goals scores is only worsened by Port Vale (33) and Cambridge United (32).
A goal-fest certainly isn’t on the cards, but a comfortable win for the home side should be.
Prediction: MK Dons 2-0 Yeovil Town
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