Sports Mole previews Monday’s League Two clash between Salford City and MK Dons, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Salford City will attempt to claim their first win of the season when they welcome MK Dons to the Penisula Stadium for Monday’s League Two contest.
Meanwhile, the visitors will be looking to record a second straight victory after sweeping past Carlisle United last weekend.
Match preview
© Imago
Salford have endured a disappointing start to the 2024-25 season, having drawn two and lost five of their competitive matches.
The Ammies began the campaign with consecutive home defeats to Port Vale and Doncaster Rovers in the league and EFL Cup respectively, before they picked up their first point of the season with a goalless draw in their away meeting with Bradford City.
After losing to Port Vale in the EFL Trophy, Salford made it back-to-back league draws in last Saturday’s away meeting with newly-promoted Chesterfield.
The Ammies looked set to fall to a narrow defeat until Kelly N’Mai netted an 86th-minute equaliser to ensure his side left Derbyshire with a point to show for their efforts.
Salford will now return to the Peninsula Stadium where they suffered three consecutive 2-0 defeats this season, and the hosts will be determined to end that losing run by claiming their first-ever victory over MK Dons.
Like their hosts, MK Dons experienced an underwhelming start to the campaign, losing each of their first three matches across all competitions.
They suffered league defeats to Bradford City and Colchester United on either side of a heavy 5-0 loss to Championship side Watford in the first round of the EFL Cup.
After getting off to a poor start, MK Dons finally got their campaign up and running with a commanding 3-0 home win over Carlisle thanks to goals from Callum Hendry, Alex Gilbey and Ellis Harrison.
The result also ended MK Dons’ seven-game run without a clean sheet, and they will look to produce another strong defensive display in Monday’s clash against their former manager Karl Robinson.
The visitors will draw inspiration from the fact they boast a 100% record against Salford, having won both of their two competitive meetings, including a 4-2 victory in last season’s away encounter.
Salford City League Two form:
Salford City form (all competitions):
MK Dons League Two form:
MK Dons form (all competitions):
Team News
Salford defender Curtis Tilt is set to serve a one-match suspension after being sent off for two bookable offences at the weekend.
Matthew Lund and Ryan Watson are expected to be available after recovering from illness and injury respectively, but Liam Shephard and Kevin Berkoe are unlikely to feature.
Hakeem Adelakun, Frankie Okoronkwo, Haji Mnoga and Kylian Kouassi all arrived on the deadline, and the latter was signed in time to play some role in Monday’s contest.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the service of Matt Dennis and Jonathan Leko, while Luke Offord is a doubt after being forced off against Carlisle.
Liam Kelly is set to return to the fold after missing the last three matches, and the midfielder could be given the chance to start against Salford.
Joe White, Kane Thompson-Sommers and Sonny Finch all joined the club on deadline day, but it remains to be seen who was signed in time to feature in Monday’s matchday squad.
Salford City possible starting lineup:
Jones; Edwards, Chester, Negru, Garbutt; Austerfield, Fornah; Luamba, Woodburn, Taylor; Stockton
MK Dons possible starting lineup:
McGill; Sherring, Tucker, Maguire; Nemane, Lemonheigh-Evans, Carroll, Tomlinson; Wearne, Gilbey, Hendry
We say: Salford City 1-2 MK Dons
MK Dons would have taken confidence from their recent win over Carlisle, and after winning their last two meetings with Salford, we think the visitors will claim another victory to maintain their 100% record against the Ammies.
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