Ipswich Town will be looking to continue their revival in form of late when they travel to the struggling AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday evening.
The hosts extended their winless spell to seven games at the weekend, whilst the visitors came from behind to win for the third time in four games.
Match preview
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Tuesday's hosts finally put an end to their barren spell in front of goal on Saturday afternoon, but it was still not enough to end their winless streak as well.
Having headed to Burton Albion on the back of five games without a goal in all competitions, Ollie Palmer netted 20 minutes from time to provide Mark Robinson's side with arguably a deserved lead.
However, that lead lasted just seven minutes as Daniel Jebbison scrambled home an equaliser for their hosts, and despite pushing for all three points at the end, the Dons had to settle for a fair share of the points.
Robinson will be hopeful his side can take the confidence built up from that game and apply it directly to Tuesday's encounter against an in-form opponent 10 places above them in the table.
Wimbledon occupy 19th in the table as a result of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Burton, with just a single point keeping them above Morecambe in the relegation places.
With just two defeats in their 11 home games in League One prior to Tuesday, Wimbledon will likely remain difficult to beat despite their struggles of late, but Robinson continues to search for the solution to their creativity and finishing issues.
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Meanwhile, Ipswich head to Plough Lane on Tuesday evening on the up, with Saturday's 2-1 comeback victory over Accrington Stanley lifting them to ninth in the League One table.
Eight points now separate Ipswich from the playoff places, and with form and morale being in a strong place ahead of the encounter against a struggling side, manager Kieran McKenna will believe that it is a perfect opportunity to further cut the gap to the top six.
Wes Burns and Conor Chaplin netted the goals at Portman Road on Saturday, in what turned out to be an even game despite the lack of form of their opponents.
Accrington struck the woodwork twice during the encounter, so the Tractor Boys certainly rode their luck at times, but the result extended the impressive start under McKenna since he took over in December.
Ipswich had won just once in the previous nine games before the former Manchester United coach took charge, but since his appointment, Town have won three, drawn one and lost just once under his guidance.
Despite the troubles of their hosts on Tuesday though, McKenna will be all too aware of their solid home form this campaign, whilst also being wary of the fact his new side have failed to beat Wimbledon in their last four meetings, which includes a 2-2 draw back at Portman Road in August.
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Team News
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Wimbledon will assess the injury picked up by captain Alex Woodyard on Saturday, with the midfielder being forced off late on in the 1-1 draw.
After previously being doubtful due to a muscle problem, the boss is hopeful that it was just cramp causing the 29-year-old a problem.
Henry Lawrence and Aaron Pressley are expected to miss out with hamstring injuries once more, but Anthony Hartigan could feature following his returning to training last week after a stomach issue.
As for the visitors, young striker Tyreece Simpson could feature from the bench following his recall from League Two side Swindon Town, after netting 11 goals in 30 appearances for them so far this campaign.
Midfielder Lee Evans will have to be assessed, after he picked up a knock in the warmup on Saturday, and had to be replaced by Tom Carroll in the starting 11 as a result.
Scott Fraser will also be checked on ahead of Tuesday, after he missed out at the weekend due to a minor knock to his knee, whilst new loan signing Tyreeq Bakinson will be pushing to start after he made his debut from the bench against Accrington.
AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:
Tzanev; Alexander, Heneghan, Nightingale, Osew; Chislett, Marsh; Rudoni, McCormick, Assal; Palmer
Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Walton; Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson; Burns, Morsy, Bakinson, Vincent-Young; Celina; Chaplin, Bonne
We say: AFC Wimbledon 0-2 Ipswich Town
Wimbledon are likely to remain solid and look to frustrate Ipswich on Tuesday, as they have done to most teams at Plough Lane this season.
However, their struggles in front of goal mean they are likely to have to play for a goalless draw, but we believe Ipswich will have too much quality and confidence behind them to see off their hosts relatively comfortably.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Ipswich Town win with a probability of 43.22%. A win for AFC Wimbledon had a probability of 31.24% and a draw had a probability of 25.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Ipswich Town win was 0-1 with a probability of 9.92%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.99%) and 0-2 (7.35%). The likeliest AFC Wimbledon win was 1-0 (8.18%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.12%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 7.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 0-2 win for Ipswich Town in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Ipswich Town.
