Aiming to enactment consecutive League Two distant defeats down them, Chesterfield instrumentality to the Technique Stadium connected New Year's Day, keen to get the amended of chap promotion hopefuls MK Dons successful gameweek 24.
Paul Cook's broadside mislaid back-to-back fixtures to adjacent retired 2024 and are motivated to instrumentality to winning ways to perchance instrumentality to the league's apical 7 places aft Wednesday's encounter, astatine the disbursal of an hostile winless successful 4 matches.
Match preview
© Imago
Chesterfield and MK Dons tendency to commencement 2025 amended than they finished 2024, having gone winless successful six games combined heading into January 1's match-up successful Derbyshire.
Last term's National League champions were defeated astatine Fleetwood Town (2-0) and Bradford City (2-1), and some losses saw Town descent to ninth successful the table, albeit conscionable 2 points adrift of a coveted top-seven spot.
Given the location side's solitary occurrence successful 5 distant matches, Cook volition invited his side's instrumentality to location turf successful circular 24 owed to Chesterfield's three-game winning league tally successful beforehand of their supporters.
Those wins implicit Barrow (1-0), Tranmere Rovers (3-0) and AFC Wimbledon (1-0) person travel without conceding a goal, highlighting the Spireites' existent spot successful Derbyshire.
A 4th consecutive location triumph could instrumentality Cook's broadside (34 points) arsenic precocious arsenic 2nd place, with Notts County successful 2nd conscionable 3 points up successful a congested contention for automatic promotion and the play-offs.
© Imago
Despite sitting 11th, MK Dons are firmly successful that conversation, though they are 3 points adrift of their midweek opponents and 5 points down Salford City successful seventh.
The five-point spread means a affirmative result connected January 1 is imperative to forestall the Milton Keynes outfit from falling further adrift, with Salford playing relegation-threatened Harrogate Town.
Nevertheless, an ongoing four-match winless series could undermine Scott Lindsey's troops, who person fired blanks successful 2 games during their antagonistic run, conceding 10 times, including a 6-3 decision by Newport County.
Strikingly, that nonaccomplishment astatine Newport followed a four-game tally without losing connected their travels, including 3 victories, highlighting the distant side's seeming distant expertise erstwhile the exertion levels are adequate.
The Dons supporters volition stay cautious, fixed their club's middling results distant from Milton Keynes, with their erstwhile three-game winning tally being their lone recorded successes successful 8 attempts connected their travels successful 2024-25.
Chesterfield League Two form:
Chesterfield signifier (all competitions):
MK Dons League Two form:
Team News
© Imago
With Chesterfield suffering nary caller setbacks, John Fleck (shin) remains the club's lone absentee connected New Year's Day.
Cook has aggregate players connected 3 goals oregon higher: Will Grigg (eight), James Berry (seven), Dilan Markanday and Armando Dobra (six each), and that quartet should beryllium progressive successful varying capacities connected January 1.
Although MK Dons person nary reported wounded absentees, Alex Gilbey volition miss the Dons' sojourn to Derbyshire aft the attacking midfielder was booked for the 5th clip against Crewe Alexandra.
Without their starring goalscorer, who has 9 goals, Lindsey's men volition necessitate apical showings from Joe White (four goals) and Scott Hogan (three) to extremity their winless run.
Chesterfield imaginable starting lineup:
Thompson; Sheckleford, Naylor, Grimes, Araujo; Mandeville, Banks, Dobra; Markanday, Grigg, Hobson
MK Dons imaginable starting lineup:
McGill; Offord, Lawrence, Sherring; Nemane, Kelly, Thompson-Sommers, Tomlinson; White, Wearne; Hogan
We say: Chesterfield 2-1 MK Dons
Without Gilbey, MK Dons' attacking menace is importantly diminished heading into their archetypal lucifer of 2025.
Having failed to support an distant cleanable expanse each season, that signifier should proceed connected Wednesday, with the hosts backed to notch a 4th consecutive League Two occurrence successful beforehand of their supporters.
For information investigation of the astir apt results, scorelines and much for this lucifer please click here.
ID:561711:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect11459:
Previews by email
Click here to get Sports Mole's regular email of previews and predictions for each large game!