This FA Cup Second Round replay is an all-League One affair as MK Dons host Charlton Athletic. The two sides played out a 0-0 draw at the Valley in the original fixture just under two weeks ago and will face each other again in the league on Boxing Day. It also sees Charlton manager Karl Robinson returnn to the club he managed for six years before leaving in October of this year.
New MK Dons manager Robbie Neilson may have lost his first match in charge of his new team against Yeovil Town but then recovered to lead his team to a 1-0 victory over rivals AFC Wimbledon in what was Neilson’s first league match in charge at the Stadium MK thanks to a Dean Bowditch penalty.
After such a poor start to the League One campaign following their relegation from the Championship last year, it seems the arrival of Neilson has brought a fresh impetus to the club. Confidence will no doubt be high after that win against Wimbledon and the Dons players will certainly feel they have a good chance of pushing on now.
Having only had two matches, and just of those one at home, under their new boss, it is incredibly hard to judge MK Dons’ form at the moment. For what it’s worth, before Neilson’s arrival they had not won a league match at home since the start of the season whilst they had also had problems at the back with 30 goals conceded in just 21 games. However, with a new man at the helm, it is very much a clean slate for the Milton Keynes’ side.
Charlton are on a relatively good run of form in League One at the moment with just one defeat in their last nine matches. However, half of those have been draws which has meant they have been unable to significantly climb the table. Just like Neilson at MK Dons, you would expect that new manager Karl Robinson would be able to give his team a bit of a boost but the 38-year-old has only managed to preside over two 0-0 draws.
These two results pretty much sum up Charlton over the course of the season. Even before Robinson’s arrival it was a case of being pretty good at the back, but lacking in attacking power. In terms of home and away form, it has been The Addicks form at The Valley which has been the much more spectacular in recent times with no losses in six, while they also went on a four-match winning streak in that time. On the other side of the coin, Charlton do not have such a great record on the road with just two wins all season.
It will of course be emotional for Robinson returning to his former stomping ground on Tuesday night and unfortunately for him I think he will come off second best.
There has been a momentum shift since Neilson took charge at MK Dons which has so far yet to happen at Charlton for Robinson. MK Dons clearly have firepower and should be able to outscore a Charlton side, despite their good defensive record, who offer little going forward. Furthermore, when we take Charlton’s away form into account and the fact it looks like the monkey of that elusive home win has finally got off the Dons’ backs, there should only be one winner here.
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