Swindon Town look forward to hosting MK Dons in the return fixture at The County Ground today at 3pm.
Town will be looking to build on a recent turnaround in performance and convert this into victories with the visit of MK Dons to The County Ground this weekend.
MK Dons currently sit in 6th position with 51 points, as they look to build on the form which has seen them currently compete for a promotion push with around a third of the season left to play.
A lowdown on the visitors
MK Dons formed from the ashes of Wimbledon FC and began playing their football at the National Hockey Stadium in Milton Keynes in 2004.
The Dons suffered relegation to League Two in 2006 and were playing in the fourth division of English football when they moved into Stadium MK in 2007.
The 2007/08 season was one of the most memorable in the club’s history, with former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince leading the Dons to the League Two title, as well as lifting the EFL Trophy at Wembley.
Ince would depart for Blackburn Rovers, with former Chelsea and Italy midfielder Roberto Di Matteo leading the club to third place in League One in his only season in charge, before missing out on promotion via the playoffs.
Ince would return the following season before the Dons longest serving manager Karl Robinson was appointed in 2010.
Under Robinson, the Dons were regular playoff contenders in League One and were finally promoted to the Championship in 2015 as League One runners-up.
A demanding year in the Championship followed, with the Dons relegated back to League One after the 2015/16 season. Robinson would eventually make way for then-Hearts manager Robbie Neilson to take charge in 2016.
The Dons were eventually relegated to League Two under former England youth coach Dan Micciche in 2018.
Former Exeter manager Paul Tisdale was then appointed to get the club back into League One, which he achieved at the first time of asking.
After returning to League One the likes of Russell Martin, Liam Manning, and Mark Jackson have all led MK Dons, with Manning taking the club to within a point of being promoted to the Championship in 2021/22.
The Dons were relegated to League Two under Jackson last season and moved to appoint experienced coach Graham Alexander in the summer.
After a good start results dried up for the former Salford manager, who was replaced by then-Gateshead boss Mike Williamson in October. Since Williamson’s appointment, MK Dons have won 10 of their 16 league games.
Memorable Match:
Swindon made it a record 11 home clean sheets in a row as a Matt Ritchie strike on the stroke of half-time ended up being the game's only goal and gave Town a well-fought 1-0 victory over today's opponents.
MK's Dean Lewington was shown red before Ritchie's effort just before the break to hand Swindon the points, and a club record of eleven home clean sheets on the bounce back in August 2012.
Head-to-head
23/24: MK Dons 3-2 Swindon Town
20/21: MK Dons 5-0 Swindon Town
20/21: Swindon Town 1-4 MK Dons
18/19: MK Dons 2-3 Swindon Town
18/19: Swindon Town 1-1 MK Dons
The manager: Mike Williamson
Mike Williamson began his footballing career as a centre-back at Torquay United, before securing a move to Southampton in 2001 while he was still a teenager.
The defender then made his way to Buckinghamshire with a move to Wycombe Wanderers, a club he played more than 140 times for. He then signed for Watford, before securing another move to Portsmouth in 2009.
From there Williamson moved to Newcastle United, featuring regularly in the Premier League over a six-year spell for the Magpies. He was voted Newcastle’s player of the season for 2013/14.
After leaving St James Park Williamson had an injury-disrupted spell at Wolves, before eventually playing for Oxford United and then Gateshead.
Williamson was given his first taste of management at The Tynesiders, enjoying four years as Head Coach before joining MK Dons in October.
One to watch: Max Dean
A youngster who has excelled in his first EFL move since leaving Leeds in a permanent deal at the start of the season, 19-year-old Max Dean will be looking to carry on his impressive goalscoring return so far this season and someone that Town will need to watch out for.
Having scored in the 3-2 fixture back at Stadium:MK, Dean has gone on to score 13 times in 34 appearances for his current side and has already earned praise for his performances with the EFL Young Player of the Month award for October 2023 too.
