Football – England – League One
Saturday 24th November 2012 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Third placed MK Dons will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to six matches with the visit of lower half side Colchester United at stadium:mk on Saturday afternoon.
MK Dons have been very solid in recent weeks having won four of their last five matches with wins over Scnthorpe United 3-0, Leyton Orient 1-0, second placed Sheffield United 1-0 and League One leaders Tranmere Rovers 1-0 along with a midweek 2-2 draw at Shrewsbury Town. Perhaps more importantly though, take note that The Dons have kept four clean sheets in their last five matches and they are particularly mean at home chalking up six clean sheets in nine matches.
MK Dons’ home record therefore stands at 6-2-1 11/4 and not surprisingly possess the best defensive record at home in League One. They also have a few key attacking players more than capable of scoring and creating goals; striker Dean Bowditch (4 goals, 5 assists) along with goalscoring midfielder Luke Chadwick (4 goals, 2 assists), Daniel Powell (2 goals, 3 assists) and further support from the likes of important midfielder Darren Potter and forward Charlie MacDonald.
Visitors Colchester United are experiencing a downturn in form in recent weeks having won just once in their last five League One matches which is in stark contrast to their previous good run of five wins in six matches. As a result, the Essex side have dropped down a few places in the division and this has largely been down to their inconsistent away form.
Colchester’s away record stands at 2-2-5 8/14 and despite enduring a goal-less first four away matches they are now beginning to hit the net on their travels. The downside for them though is that their opponents are too!
Colchester’s main goal threats are likely to come from Jabo Ibehre (on loan from MK Dons) and it’ll be interesting to see if he’s allowed to participate in today’s match against his employers. Midfielder Anthony Wordsworth (3 goals, 2 assists) will need to be watched as too Freddie Sears and Clinton Morrison, but they lack the attacking options of their hosts and today should be a mis-match in quality.
Colchester suffered a 1-3 defeat at home to Coventry in the week and it’ll be interesting to see how they cope at miserly MK Dons and I’ll back the hosts to cover the -1 handicap accordingly.
I fancy either a 2-0 or 3-1 home win here today.
Pick: MK Dons AH-1 @ 2.03 Pinnacle
