Aiming to stay out of the bottom four in the League One table in the final two games of the season, MK Dons will welcome Barnsley to Stadium MK on Saturday.

A tough run of form has seen the hosts fall with in two points of the drop zone, while their visitors have sealed a playoff place and still have a chance of climbing to third.

Match preview

In what has been an underwhelming campaign on the whole, MK Dons have consistently found themselves fighting at the bottom end of League One, but thanks to three consecutive 1-0 victories over Cambridge United, Accrington Stanley and Morecambe in March, they at least looked to have taken huge steps towards confirming their safety.

Those results took Mark Jackson's side onto 39 points from 38 league games, but they have since failed to continue their climb towards guaranteed safety, having been unable to add another notch to their wins column in six further attempts since.

The Dons would firstly play out four consecutive draws, coming back from behind on the first three occasions, before looking set to triumph 2-1 over Cheltenham Town, only to be pegged back by a 97th-minute winner from Alfie May, and they now head into the weekend in an increasingly concerning position on the back of two defeats.

That latest draw was followed by a 1-0 loss at home to Charlton Athletic, in which Jack Payne netted the only goal, before Promise Omochere condemned them to a one-goal defeat away at Fleetwood Town most recently last weekend.

As a result of their rut, and with sides immediately around them all winning last time out, MK Dons have now dropped back to 20th place, and with just a two-point lead over Morecambe in the drop zone, they will be desperate to pick up a victory at the weekend to maintain that cushion and potentially wrap up their survival depending on other results.

They meet a Barnsley side who look set to finish fourth and go into a playoff campaign, after a strong season in their bid to return to England's second tier.

Since moving into the top six in December in the midst of a run of victories, Michael Duff's side have never left the playoff places, amassing 85 points in their 44 games thus far, courtesy of 26 victories.

The Yorkshire outfit would all but wrap up their top-six finish with a particularly strong run between January and March, going 12 games unbeaten and picking up 10 wins, before bouncing back from away defeats to Exeter City and Burton Albion with another four-match unbeaten streak, surrounding a goalless draw against Lincoln City with triumphs against Shrewsbury Town, Forest Green Rovers and Oxford United.

On the back of that latest win, the Tykes most recently hosted second-placed Ipswich Town on Tuesday, and a run of nine straight wins at Oakwell was eventually put to an end, as Nathan Broadhead, George Hirst and Conor Chaplin netted goals in a 3-0 away victory.

Now almost certain to finish fourth unless they manage to bridge a five-point gap to third-placed Sheffield Wednesday in the final two games, Duff's men will be keen to bounce back from the disappointing midweek defeat and go into the playoffs with momentum.

Team News

MK Dons' only enforced absentee should be Daniel Harvie, who remains sidelined by an injury, with Zak Jules again set to operate in a left wing-back role in his absence, with Tennai Watson likely operating on the other flank.

Between them, Jackson is bound to deploy an unchanged back three consisting of Warren O'Hora, Jack Tucker and veteran Dean Lewington, while Bradley Johnson and Dawson Devoy are both fighting to come into the midfield from the outset after Josh McEachran and Paris Maghoma were preferred last time out.

Mo Eisa should again be given the nod to lead the line for the Dons, having netted nine league goals so far this season, although Will Grigg is also vying to come into the front three, with Sullay Kaikai and Jonathan Leko likely having nailed down their spots on the wings.

Key Barnsley midfielder Luca Connell missed their contest against Ipswich on Tuesday, with manager Michael Duff citing illness as the reason for his absence, and he is unlikely to be thrown straight back into the starting XI for the playoff campaign, with an unchanged central unit of Jon Russell, Herbie Kane and Adam Phillips anticipated instead, while Josh Benson is also hoping to come in from the outset.

There is competition in attack too, and although James Norwood and Devante Cole have formed the primary front line through the season thus far, with 10 and 15 league goals respectively, Duff could opt to rotate with Max Watters and Slobodan Tedic in line to come in up front.

At the other end of the pitch, Bobby Thomas and Liam Kitching should join Mads Andersen in an unchanged back three in front of Luton Town loanee Harry Isted between the sticks.

MK Dons possible starting lineup:
Cumming; Tucker, O'Hora, Lewington; Watson, Maghoma, McEachran, Jules; Leko, Eisa, Kaikai

Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Isted; Thomas, Andersen, Kitching; Williams, Phillips, Kane, Benson, Cadden; Tedic, Watters

We say: MK Dons 1-2 Barnsley

MK Dons will fight hard in their bid to stay out of the bottom four on Saturday, but they meet a Barnsley side who boast more quality all over the pitch, and we see the South Yorkshire outfit coming out on top on their travels.


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