The Dons will be under pressure for all the game
Last updated: January 29, 2016 by Leon Marshal
Game details
. .
| Kick-off: | Sunday, 4pm |
| Venue: | Stadium MK |
| Coverage: | Sky Sports 1, BBC 5 Live |
| Home form: | LWWLD |
| Away form: | WDDWW |
| Last meeting: | — |
| Competition: | The FA Cup |
MK Dons’ main priority this season is avoiding relegation in The Championship. The Dons are lying 20th in the second English professional football league . They have collected 26 points in 28 matches and are just 2 in front of 22nd-placed Bristol City. Despite Milton Keynes Dons playing awful football in The Championship, The Dons managed to eliminate Northampton in the third round of The FA Cup after a replay. They achieved a great 3-0 victory at The Stadium MK, after goals, scored by Reeves, Josh Murphy and Church.
On the other hand, Chelsea had no problems in the previous round of The FA Cup. The Blues beat Scunthorpe 2-0 at Stamford Bridge. Diego Costa and Loftus-Cheek found the net for The Londoners. Moreover, Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 8 competitive games. The Blues won 4 of these matches.
As an inheritor of Wimbledon FC, Milton Keynes Dons was founded in 2004. So, this will be the MK Dons’ first ever meeting with Chelsea. Karl Robinson’s lads are expected to play on the counter-attack and to defend for almost all the match against The Blues.
Team News
The MK Dons top goal-scorer this season is Josh Murphy. The forward scored just 4 goals in 24 games in The Championship.
The most famous MK Dons player, who will surely take part in the match against Chelsea is Matthew Upson. The defender has played in only 3 games this season.
Radamel Falcao is the only injured Chelsea player. The Colombian international forward is suffering from a tight muscle strain.
Eden Hazard is expected to be among the starting XI. The Belgian winger has recently suffered from several injuries, but is now 100% ready to play.
Expected line-ups:
| . | |
| MK Dons (4-2-3-1): | Martin, Spence, Kay, Upson, Lewington, Forster-Caskey, Potter, Carruthers, Williams, Church, Murphy. |
| Subs | Reeves, Bowditch, Powell, Hodson, Cropper, Hitchcock, Walsh. |
| Injured: | — |
| Doubtful: | — |
| Not available: | — |
| . | |
| Chelsea (4-2-3-1): | Begovic, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic, Azpilicueta, Fabregas, Obi Mikel, Hazard, Matic, Willian, Diego Costa. |
| Subs | Courtois, Oscar, Pedro, Kenedy, Ramires, Remy, Zouma. |
| Injured: | Falcao, Atsu. |
| Doubtful: | — |
| Not available: | — |
Comparison
| . | . | . |
|---|---|---|
| MK Dons this season | Chelsea this season | |
| Karl Robinson | Head coach | Guus Hiddink |
| The Championship | Division | The Premier League |
| 20 | League Position | 13 |
| 3-0 vs. Northampton (home) | 3rd round result | 2-0 vs. Scunthorpe (home) |
| Fifth round | Biggest success in The FA Cup | Winners (7) |
| 2nd round | Last campaign in The FA Cup | 4th round |
| Church, Maynard, Reeves, Murphy (1) | Top scorers in The FA Cup | Diego Costa, Loftus-Cheek (1) |
| Reeves (2) | Assist leader in The FA Cup | Azpilicueta, Ivanovic (1) |
- This match will be the first ever meeting between these two teams, because the MK Dons was founded in 2004, from Wimbledon FC.
- Chelsea have kept a clean sheet in 4 of their last 6 matches (all competitions). They conceded 5 goals in these matches in total.
- MK Dons have recently been impressive at home. The Dons won 4 of their last 5 matches at The Stadium MK. They only lost to Burnley (0-5).
- Diego Costa is in top form for Chelsea. The Spanish striker has scored 4 goals in the Blues’ last 5 matches. Costa is expected to start again for The Londoners.