MK Dons will be looking to close in on the League One playoffs when they welcome Gillingham to Stadium MK on New Year's Day.
The hosts have won only two of their last six league matches on home soil, while the visitors have failed to win any of their last six games on the road.
Match preview
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After MK Dons saw their home encounter with Cheltenham Town postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak among the visitors' squad, Liam Manning's side have had a few extra days to rest, recuperate and prepare for their first fixture of 2022.
The Dons won their most recent league game on Boxing Day when they came from two goals down against Lincoln City to win 3-2 away from home, thanks to second-half strikes from Matt O'Riley and Scott Twine (2), with the latter scoring a dramatic 90th-minute winner to seal all three points.
Manning's men currently sit just outside the playoffs in seventh place, four points behind sixth-placed Wycombe Wanderers, though they do have a game in hand.
MK Dons, who cruised to a 4-1 victory away at Gillingham earlier this season, will be looking to take advantage of the Gills' poor run of form with another win to kick-start the New Year in style.
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Gillingham head into Saturday's game having not taken to the pitch since December 11 following the postponement of their fixtures against Crewe Alexandra and Charlton Athletic due to COVID-19.
Steve Evans will be desperate for his side to play and end their miserable run of form, which has seen them fail to win any of their last 11 games across all competitions, including defeats in each of their last six matches.
This disappointing spell has seen the Gills slip to 23rd in the League One standings, just one point above basement club Crewe and five points adrift of safety.
Gillingham, who are experiencing their eighth consecutive season in the third tier, need to turn their fortunes around quickly if they wish to stay at this level of the English football pyramid.
The Gills have lost each of their last four visits to Stadium MK, conceding 10 goals in the process, so a bright start to the New Year may be a tall order for Evans's men.
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Team News
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MK Dons forward Max Watters has returned to his parent club Cardiff City after the Welsh club activated a clause in his loan agreement.
Manning could name the same starting lineup that beat Lincoln, which would see O'Riley and Josh McEachran keep their places in centre-midfield.
Tottenham Hotspur loanee Troy Parrott will be hoping to force his way into the first XI ahead of either Hiram Boateng or Mohamed Eisa.
As for Gillingham, Max Ehmer, Kyle Dempsey, Dan Adshead and Vadaine Oliver all remain sidelined with injuries.
Right-back Ryan Jackson has served his one-match suspension and is expected to return to the starting lineup at the expense of Harvey Lintott.
First-choice goalkeeper Jamie Cumming could also come back into the first XI, with Aaron Chapman set to drop to the bench as a result.
MK Dons possible starting lineup:
Fisher; O'Hora, Darling, Lewington; Kioso, McEachran, O'Riley, Harvie; Boateng, Twine, Eisa
Gillingham possible starting lineup:
Cummings; Jackson, Bennett, Tucker, McKenzie; O'Keefe, Phillips; Lloyd, Lee, Carayol; Akinde
We say: MK Dons 2-0 Gillingham
Both teams will be keen to begin 2022 with a victory, though MK Dons will be the strong favourites to come away with all three points.
The absence of Ehmer, Dempsey and Oliver will be felt by Gillingham, who may fall to yet another league defeat on Saturday.
Top tip
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 MK Dons win with a probability of 57.37%. A draw had a probability of 23.1% and a win for Gillingham had a probability of 19.51%.
The most likely scoreline for a MK Dons win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.74%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.48%) and 2-1 (9.81%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.99%), while for a Gillingham win it was 0-1 (6.16%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 6.6% likelihood.
