OPPONENTS: Milton Keynes Dons Football Club
MANAGER: Robbie Neilson
NICKNAME: The Dons
LEAGUE POSITION: 14th
THE JOURNEY: Stadium mk to Fratton Park – Just over 115 miles, just over 2 hours.
LAST TIME OUT:
* Pompey got the job done in a hard fought away victory against Gillingham last Sunday thanks to a goal 30 seconds into the second half from the impressive Matty Kennedy.
* MK Dons had a less enjoyable weekend, seeing their 4 game unbeaten run come crashing to an end after a sending off in the first 5 minutes was the catalyst for a 4-1 defeat at home to Bradford.
POMPEY STATS:
* Pompey’s Win/Loss run continues, having alternately won and lost each of their last 8 games. After Sunday’s victory at Gillingham, anything but a defeat will end that run. Consistently inconsistent.
* Portsmouth have won more corners away from home this season than they have at home (41 v 31).
* They have also conceded less corners away from home (18 away v 27 at Fratton)
* The 17 players who made up the match day squad against Gillingham had only scored 4 goals between them in League One this season. With Pitman and Chaplin likely to miss out again, that number will be 5 this week thanks to Matt Kennedy’s winner.
* Top Scorer: Pitman (9), Chaplin/Lowe/Kennedy (2)
MK DONS STATS:
* MK Dons had 7 league fixtures in September, amassing 14 points. Outside of September the Dons only managed to pick up 3 points
* The Dons have twice escaped League One since their creation in 2004, getting relegated to League Two 2006/07 and spending a season in the Championship in 2015/16.
* Stadium mk is the largest ground in the league, boasting a capacity of 30,500 – however their average attendance is just over 9,000, meaning they play the majority of their home games in front of a 2/3rds empty ground.
* Robbie Neilson’s men have only scored more than two goals on one occasion this season, a 3-2 home win against struggling Gillingham.
* Top Scorers: Gboly Ariyibi (3) Ethan Ebanks-Landell & Ryan Seager & Osman Sow (2)
HEAD TO HEAD (Courtesy of Pompeyrama.com):
* Pompey have only played MK Dons twice in their history. These meetings came in the 2012/13 season. Both games finished level.
* The most recent encounter was at Fratton Park. David Connolly gave Pompey the lead before a stunning equaliser from Shaun Williams. It was Pompey’s 23rd game without a win.
* Including fixtures against Wimbledon, Pompey have met this franchise 30 times in history, winning 10, losing 10 and drawing 10. How’s that for a bit of symmetry!
PLAYED FOR US/PLAYED FOR THEM/SCUMMER WATCH
* Stuart O’Keefe – Spent the first 6 months of this year on loan to MK Dons from Cardiff and had a reasonably decent time there, scoring 4 goals in 18 games.
* Matty Kennedy – Our other Cardiff loanee has also had a spell with the Dons, spending just over a month on loan with them whilst Everton were his parent club in 2014.
* Ryan Seager – The highly rated 21 year old is currently on loan from that lot down the road. He has only made a single appearance for them but is now a regular for the Dons and his mates back at his parent club will be in his ear about grabbing a goal in this one.
ONE TO WATCH:
* Dean Lewington – The 33 year old Dons defender is their record appearance holder. Should he feature on Saturday it will be his 677th appearance (including 32 games for Wimbledon prior to the rebrand). The name may be familiar as his father Ray played for Chelsea and Fulham in the 70’s & 80’s and more recently has been Roy Hodgson’s second in command at England and currently at Palace.
PREDICTION:
* This win-lose cycle has gone on long enough now, it’s just not funny anymore. If we can get an early goal I think it will be a comfortable win, especially with Burgess back and Hawkins available to play in an attacking role. I’m going for a 3-1 Blues win, goals from Bennett, Main and Lalkovic.
NEXT 5 GAMES:
Tue 17th Oct – Doncaster (A) – League One
Sat 21st Oct – Blackburn (A) – League One
Sat 28th Oct – Bradford (H) – League One
Sat 4th Nov – TBA (?) – FA Cup 1st Round
Sat 11th Nov – Blackpool (A) – League One
FRIPPY’S TEASER:
The draw for the first round of the FA happens on Monday. What 116 year record was broken against Pompey’s FA Cup first round opponents in 2014?
Written by PompeyFrippy and originally posted in the forum.
PUP
Follow @VitalPortsmouth.
2017-18 Prediction League – October
MK Dons (h) – Saturday 14th October 2017 – click here.
Doncaster (a) – Tuesday 17th October 2017 – click here.
Blackburn (a) – Saturday 21st October 2017 – click here.
Bradford (h) – Saturday 28th October 2017 – click here.
