By Callum Burgess
Milton Keynes Dons travel to the One Call Stadium for the first time this season after the original fixture against Mansfield Town got postponed.
On the 9th of December, an early pitch inspection deemed the surface unplayable, with the game rearranged to the 5th of March.
The Dons still have to face their promotion rivals twice this season, with the second fixture set to be on the 13th of April.
The Stags have had a brilliant season under Nigel Clough, who has expertly managed his side to the top of League Two after 34 matches.
Key players include Davis Keillor-Dunn, who has seventeen goals this season, and Stephen Quinn, who has the third joint-most assists this season with nine.
Mansfield had four previous MK Dons players in their squad in their 1-0 win over Newport County. Baily Cargill and George Williams occupied the full-back spots, with Hiram Boateng sitting in midfield and Jordan Bowery coming on from the bench.
Their goalkeeper, Christy Pym, has 13 clean sheets to his name over 34 matches, giving him a 38% chance of not conceding a goal this season.
They have won four of their last five games, beating Harrogate Town 9-2 in the process, only losing to sixth-placed Walsall.
MK Dons currently sit five points away from the third automatic promotion spot, making these fixtures against promotion hopefuls very important in the club’s bid to get back to League One.
Head-to-Head Record
These two sides have played each other six times, with Mansfield only winning once in a 2-1 home win back in 2006, however, the game that will sit firmly in the minds of the clubs is their clash in 2019.
MK Dons beat Mansfield Town 1-0 in a winner-take-all game, where a David Wheeler header in the second minute secured MK Dons promotion back to League One at the first time of asking.
After the game, a pitch invasion occurred from the celebrating home fans, with a select few going to goad the away supporters.
After this game, Mansfield Town lost in the playoffs against Newport County on penalties, with Tranmere Rovers securing the last promotion spot in the playoff final.
Mansfield Town have only been victorious once against MK Dons, losing three times and drawing twice, with their last clash at the One Call Stadium ending in a 1-1 draw, where Cargill and Williams featured for the Dons.
Team News
According to the Transfermarkt website, Alfie Kilgour is the only player out injured for Mansfield Town when he suffered a ruptured Achilles against Doncaster Rovers, which has ruled him out for the rest of the season.
Dean Lewington may return to the MK Dons squad as he has served his two-match suspension after his red card for dissent against Wrexham.
Max Dean is still out injured for the foreseeable future but there are no fresh injury concerns for MK Dons fans to worry about.
Dan Kemp and Joe Tomlinson are one yellow card away from missing the next match and George Maris and Davis Keillor-Dunn sit in the same boat for Mansfield.
Mansfield Town predicted lineup: Pym, Williams, Flint, Brunt, Cargill, Clarke, Reed, Boateng, Maris, Nichols and Keillor-Dunn.
Milton Keynes Dons predicted lineup: Kelly, Lofthouse, Lewington, O’Hora, Harvie, Tomlinson, Payne, Bate, Kemp, Wearne and Gilbey.
Prediction
With Wrexham opening a five-point gap in 3rd, MK Dons will be hoping to bounce back from their last game with a win at the One Call Stadium.
Nigel Clough’s team will prove hard to beat, as their four losses in League Two would suggest. With Pym having the most clean sheets in the league, it will be hard for MK Dons to break down their defence.
MK Dons will just do enough to grab a draw, but that is about as positive as I can be here against Mansfield Town, who have a truly excellent side and are probably favorites to win the league.
