Preview: AFC Wimbledon vs Huddersfield Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting on the final day of the League One season, AFC Wimbledon welcome Huddersfield Town to Plough Lane on Saturday afternoon, with neither side having anything left to play for.

The Dons secured their third-tier status with a narrow 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic last time out, while the Terriers saw their 15-match unbeaten home run come to an emphatic end in a 4-1 defeat to Mansfield Town.

Match preview

After earning promotion via the playoffs last season, AFC Wimbledon’s primary objective for the 2025-26 campaign was to secure survival, and they achieved that aim with a game to spare.

Their safety was confirmed in dramatic fashion, with substitute Antwoine Hackford netting a 90th-minute winner against Wigan in what was their penultimate game of the season to ensure they will remain in League One next season.

Jackson’s side will be relieved to have ended a poor run of form at a crucial time, having entered that fixture on the back of six consecutive defeats and seven games without a win, with the threat of relegation still looming.

With survival now secured, attention will turn to next season, where the Dons will be aiming for a more comfortable campaign.

Improving at the back will be key, with 68 goals conceded in 45 matches placing them among the weakest defensive sides in the division.

Huddersfield Town, meanwhile, head into their final fixture with little at stake in terms of league position, although they could still surpass last season’s points tally with a positive result.

Currently level with their total from the 2024-25 campaign, a draw or victory would see them improve on that return and potentially finish higher than last season’s 10th-place finish.

However, they will need to bounce back from a disappointing performance last weekend, where they were comfortably beaten 4-1 by Mansfield, ending their long unbeaten run at home.

That humbling defeat also ended a run of five consecutive matches that had featured a goal in the 90th minute or beyond, highlighting their recent struggles to see games out.

After occupying a top-six spot earlier in the year, Huddersfield’s playoff push has faded, with off-field circumstances playing a role following Liam Manning’s bereavement leave, during which Jon Stead and Martin Drury took interim charge for the remainder of the season.

The reverse fixture between the sides produced an entertaining 3-3 draw back in November, and another open contest could be on the cards here.

AFC Wimbledon League One form:

L L L L L W

Huddersfield Town League One form:

D W D D D L

Team News

With this effectively a dead rubber contest, both managers may opt to rotate their squads and give opportunities to fringe players.

Even if Jackson wanted to name the same XI once again, he will be unable to do so after James Tilley came off with four minutes to go in last weekend's win.

Nathan Asiimwe is a likely candidate to replace the injured winger, while Ryan Johnson, Joe Lewis, Myles Hippolyte and Omar Bugiel will remain on the sidelines through injury.

Layton Stewart returned to the starting lineup last time out after a recent injury concern and is expected to lead the line once again.

Huddersfield will also need to make changes, with goalkeeper Jak Alnwick set to miss out after being withdrawn at half-time last weekend, meaning Nik Tzanev is likely to start in between the sticks for the first time this season.

As well as Alnwick, Huddersfield will be without the services of Lee Nicholls, Jack Whatmough, Josh Feeney, Lynden Gooch, Cameron Ashia, Ryan Hardie and Bojan Radulovic due to ongoing injuries.

Expect the two interim bosses to stick with the back-three lineup with 19-year-old George Sebine continuing to lead the line and looking to find his first league goal of the season.

AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:

McDonnell; Ogundere, Bauer, Johnson; Smith; Asiimwe, Maycock, Hippolyte, Seddon; Stewart, Nkeng

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:

Tzanev; Low, Wallace, Roughan; Sorensen, Ledson, Humphreys, Mumba; Harness, Sebine, Kasumu

We say: AFC Wimbledon 2-2 Huddersfield Town

The final day of the season often offers up an array of high-scoring affairs when two sides with nothing to play for meet, we expect something similar on Saturday.

With that in mind, we expect another entertaining contest, with the points shared in a 2-2 draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.