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[monks data]
Cheltenham Town
League One | Gameweek 6
Sep 4, 2021 at 3pm UK
Whaddon Road
MK Dons

Cheltenham
1 - 1
MK Dons

Joseph (14')
Blair (39'), Hussey (45'), Freestone (84')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Boateng (87')
Darling (61'), Boateng (87')

Preview: Cheltenham Town vs. MK Dons - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's League One clash between Cheltenham Town and MK Dons, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

League One top scorers MK Dons travel to Cheltenham Town on Saturday afternoon.

Despite their exploits in front of goal, the Dons are only 11th in the table, while the newly-promoted Robins are 17th.


Match preview

MK Dons striker Mohamed Eisa in action with Tottenham Hotspur's Cameron Carter-Vickers on July 28, 2021© Reuters

MK Dons have netted 10 goals in the first five league matches of this season, but have also struggled to keep them out at the other end, conceding eight times; only Ipswich Town (10) and Saturday's opponents Cheltenham (nine) have let in more.

Both of the Dons' away games in League One this season have been particularly high-scoring – a 3-3 draw against Bolton Wanderers and a 2-2 draw against Ipswich.

Last weekend, Liam Manning's men registered their first clean sheet of the campaign with a 2-0 win over Accrington Stanley before a second-string side defeated Burton Albion 2-1 in the EFL Trophy in midweek.

It means that Manning, who replaced Swansea City-bound Russell Martin a week before the start of the season, has lost just one of his first six games in charge as he aims to improve upon the club's 13th-place finish last season.

This is Cheltenham's first campaign in the third tier since 2008-09 after they won the League Two title last season.

The Robins have one win, two draws and two defeats to their name so far, while they have progressed to the third round of the EFL Cup for the first time in their history.

Leicester City loanee Callum Wright netted his third goal in as many games as Michael Duff's side drew 1-1 with Burton last weekend.

Like MK Dons, Cheltenham began their EFL Trophy campaign in midweek, but lost 2-0 to League Two outfit Bristol Rovers.

There have only been six previous meetings between these two sides – Cheltenham won last time out in December 2018, but MK Dons won the previous five.

Cheltenham Town League One form:
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • D

Cheltenham Town form (all competitions):
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • L

MK Dons League One form:
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • W

MK Dons form (all competitions):
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W



Team News

General view of Cheltenham Town's Whaddon Road from 2014© Reuters

After making nine changes for the EFL Trophy game in midweek, Michael Duff should revert to a stronger XI this weekend.

Kyle Vassell returned from injury to play half an hour as a substitute on Tuesday, but Duff has admitted that the striker is not yet ready to start games.

Charlie Raglan has been ruled out for two weeks with a knee problem, while there are doubts over Grant Horton who has been struggling with a foot issue in training.

Liam Manning also named a much-changed MK Dons team in the EFL Trophy, meaning the rested players should return on Saturday.

The Dons will be without Troy Parrott, who is away with the Republic of Ireland on international duty.

Former Cheltenham man Mohamed Eisa, who has three goals in five league games for MK Dons since signing in the summer, was forced off injured against Accrington last weekend so he is a doubt.

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:
Flinders; Blair, Long, Boyle, Freestone, Hussey; Wright, Chapman, Sercombe; May, Williams

MK Dons possible starting lineup:
Fisher; O'Hora, Darling, Lewington; Watson, O'Riley, Robson, Harvie; McEachran; Twine, Eisa


SM words green background

We say: Cheltenham Town 2-2 MK Dons

After four successive away matches in all competitions, Cheltenham will be pleased to be back home and may fancy their chances against an MK Dons side who will be weakened by the absences of Parrott and possibly Eisa. With both teams having leaky defences, we think this one will be a high-scoring draw.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Cheltenham Town win with a probability of 39.55%. A win for MK Dons had a probability of 35.18% and a draw had a probability of 25.3%.

The most likely scoreline for a Cheltenham Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 8.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.62%) and 2-0 (6.38%). The likeliest MK Dons win was 0-1 (8.23%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.91%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with an 11.9% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Cheltenham vs MK Dons

Cheltenham Town
39.0%
Draw
31.7%
MK Dons
29.3%
41
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