Second travels to fifth in a pivotal League Two promotion battle on Saturday lunchtime, as AFC Wimbledon welcome Port Vale to the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
Both teams' third-tier ambitions suffered slight blows last time out, as the hosts were slain 1-0 by Gillingham, while Port Vale had to fight back to earn a 2-2 draw against playoff hopefuls Grimsby Town.
Match preview
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Falling off the pace at the worst possible time, Wimbledon's record now reads a measly three wins from their last 14 games in League Two following an unsuccessful trip to Priestfield Stadium on Easter Monday, where a tight battle went the way of Gillingham.
Joseph Gbode's second-half strike was enough to sink Johnnie Jackson's men, who despite having seven shots failed to land a single one on target, making it easy to see why they have only come up with two goals from their last four outings in League Two.
Jackson was left to lament another "missed opportunity" at full time, and missed opportunities have been the theme of the spring for Wimbledon so far, leaving automatic promotion out of their own hands as they occupy fifth place in the fourth-tier standings.
The hosts will be unable to crack the top three if third-placed Bradford City beat Doncaster Rovers this weekend, but a win in their penultimate game would at least guarantee them a playoff spot, as eighth-placed Colchester United sit four points adrift of Jackson's team.
A far cry from their former selves at home, Wimbledon previously won five League Two games in a row at Plough Lane from December 30 to February 15 - conceding zero goals in that time - but the hosts have since earned just two victories from six in front of their own fans.
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Port Vale's latest mission to bring three points to the home faithful also ended in failure, but unlike Real Madrid against Arsenal, Darren Moore's men pulled off a remontada of their own when Grimsby paid a visit to Vale Park on April 21.
A Danny Rose double had Port Vale staring down the barrel of defeat, but Lorent Tolaj's 14th strike of the League Two season in the 78th minute gave the Valiants a glimmer of hope, before an unlikely source in Jesse Debrah levelled matters with no fewer than 95 minutes played.
The Valiants' efforts were most certainly valiant as they put themselves within touching distance of automatic promotion to League One; they are three points clear of fourth-placed Walsall, meaning that victory on Saturday coupled with the Saddlers failing to beat Accrington Stanley will send them up.
Moore's men will also seal promotion with just a point if Walsall fall to defeat, and the tantalising title fight is also poised to go right down to the wire, as first-placed Doncaster Rovers only have a one-point advantage over Port Vale with 44 matches played.
Maintaining their commitment to entertainment on Easter Monday, the visitors have now notched multiple goals in each of their last five League Two matches - netting 14 in total - and they have scored in all nine of their away league games in 2025 so far.
However, a paltry record of just three victories from their last 12 on the road is nothing to shout about, and the Valiants have failed to win on any of their previous three visits to Wimbledon's turf, although a 3-2 triumph on home soil earlier this term stands them in good stead for this critical contest.
Team News
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Following his straight red card against Doncaster Rovers earlier this month, Wimbledon captain Jake Reeves will serve the third and final game of his three-match suspension on Saturday lunchtime.
However, Jackson's midfield ranks were reinforced by the return of Sam Hutchinson over the Easter period, while Myles Hippolyte is also back in training and on the cusp of a return, but Marcus Browne is still on the treatment table.
After Osman Foyo lasted just under an hour in the loss to Gillingham, the Wimbledon frontman will no doubt be fearing for his place amid competition from all of Joe Pigott, Josh Kelly and Lebanon international Omar Bugiel, the latter of whom could force his way in here.
On Port Vale's end, wide man Sam Hart had to be withdrawn just before the hour mark against Grimsby Town, but the left-back appears to have avoided a serious problem and should be good to go again here.
Neither Ben Garrity nor Jack Shorrock were involved on Easter Monday due to injuries of their own, though, and their status for the weekend's trip to Plough Lane remains uncertain.
Rekeem Harper was given the nod to deputise in midfield for Garrity last time out, but his race was run after just 56 minutes, so one of Rhys Walters, Ronan Curtis or Rico Richards could force their way in here.
AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:
Goodman; Harbottle, Lewis, Johnson; Neufville, Maycock, Smith, Tilley; Stevens, Bugiel, Sasu
Port Vale possible starting lineup:
Amos; Smith, Hall, Debrah; Byers; Clark, Crossdale, Curtis, Hart; Tolaj, Stockley
We say: AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Port Vale
While goalscoring has not been a problem for Port Vale over these past few weeks, Wimbledon's shooting boots have failed them, a recipe for disaster against Moore's prolific men.
The visitors still concede plenty of chances and should not walk away from this one unscathed, but they could very well walk away with automatic promotion in the bag as Wimbledon prepare for the playoffs.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
