AFC Wimbledon will take on Harrogate Town in a crucial match in the race for the playoff spots in League Two at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Friday afternoon.
The hosts will head into this match with 58 points, two points off the top seven teams, while the visitors are on 54 points, although they have played a game less than their opponents.
Match preview
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AFC Wimbledon managed to come away with a point on their travels against Crewe Alexandra last weekend when John-Kymani Gordon gave them an early lead but Rio Adebisi's fourth goal of the season cancelled that out just 10 minutes later.
While the Dons would likely have been content with a point from that match, having been dominated by their opponents for large spells, the result did see them slip out of the final playoff spot, overtaken by both Crawley Town and Gillingham.
Still, following a run of four winless matches (W0 D1 L3) in the second half of February, Johnnie Jackson's side remain on an upward trajectory, with just one loss conceded in their six matches this month.
The Dons have taken a total of 32 points from a possible 60 at the Cherry Red Records Stadium this season and will fancy their chances of adding to their tally here against an opponent they beat 1-0 in the reverse fixture back in October and have not lost to in their last three encounters (W2 D1 L0).
Meanwhile, despite conceding a few hefty defeats this season, including a 9-2 drubbing at the hands of Mansfield Town and a 4-1 defeat to Newport County in the space of 14 days last month, Harrogate Town are still in the running for a top seven finish.
The Sulphurites will head to the capital with their tails up, having brought an end to an eight-match winless streak, which included four draws and four losses, with a fairly convincing 3-0 win over Bradford City last weekend.
While that result did not do much to significantly improve their league position, it did pull them within five points of seventh-placed Crawley, and a win here will almost certainly see them break back into the top half of the table with six games left to go after this one.
Simon Weaver will be particularly pleased with his side's defensive solidity heading to the run-in, with consecutive clean sheets posted in each of their last three matches ahead of this weekend's clash.
The visitors rank second in the division in terms of away records this season with 31 points taken in 20 games, though they have failed to win any of their last six, dating back to a 2-1 victory over Sutton United at the end of January.
Team News
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Omar Bugiel has concluded playing his final match of the international break for Lebanon on Tuesday, but he may miss out on a place in the starting 11 here owing to the short turnaround time between games.
In terms of injuries, Paris Lock is set for an extended period on the sidelines following surgery, and Morgan Williams is still out due to a back injury. Ben Mason has resumed training following an injury to his hamstring but is still a few weeks away from returning to first-team action.
For the visitors, Lewis Thomas is still recovering from surgery and is unlikely to feature on Friday, and he will be joined on the sideline by Sam Folarin, who is still out with a torn hamstring tendon.
Liam Gibson suffered a knock against Wrexham and has missed the last two games, which should see Weaver continue with a three-man backline featuring Matty Foulds, Anthony O'Connor and Rod McDonald.
AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:
Bass; Balmer, O'Toole, Brown; Neufville, Currie, Reeves, Ball; Kelly, Gordon, Curtis
Harrogate Town possible starting lineup:
Belshaw; O'Connor, McDonald, Foulds; Burrell, Sutton, Dooley, Daly, Sivi; Thomson, March
We say: AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Harrogate Town
Wimbledon are the favourites heading into this match, but they are going up against a Harrogate side that are unbeaten in their last three and hold the league's second-best away record this term, which includes just one loss in their last ten games on the road. We are expecting a close encounter here and feel that there will be nothing to split these two at the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
