MK Dons boss Karl Robinson has acknowledged that his side face their toughest test yet when they come up against "phenomenal" Middlesbrough.

The newly-promoted side have picked up just one point less than their promotion-backed opponents heading into this weekend's Riverside clash.

Robinson expects Boro to achieve their target of going one better than last season's near miss, but insists that his charges will head to the North-East with a clear gameplan to stifle the Smoggies' attacking threat.

"Every week is just as big an ask as before," he is quoted as saying by the Milton Keynes Citizen. "We're going to a team that have spent millions and are trying to get that automatic spot. We know how hard it'll be.

"The quality they possess is phenomenal. The front four are as good as you are going to come up against. But that's why we want to be at this level - to test ourselves against teams like this. It'll be a hard test, but it'll still be a test.

"We've got to go there and enjoy the occasion. We're massive underdogs, but we'll go with a strong mental mindset and a gameplan. Middlesbrough will look at this as a game they have to win if they want to go up. We're most people's home bankers."

Boro spent just short of £16m on new recruits this summer, making them the division's second-highest spenders behind Derby County.