Preview: Plymouth Argyle vs AFC Wimbledon - prediction, team news, lineups

Plymouth Argyle welcome AFC Wimbledon to Home Park on Saturday afternoon for their latest instalment of League One action in the 2026-27 campaign.

In their previous league outing, the Pilgrims claimed a 2-0 win away at Leyton Orient, while the Dons conceded in added time to draw with Cambridge United at Abbey Stadium.

Match preview

After narrowly missing out on participating in the League One playoffs last season, finishing two points behind Stevenage who occupied the final qualification place, it looks as though there is a serious possibility that Plymouth could go at least one step further in the 2026-27 campaign.

Despite earning just one point from their opening pair of contests, putting them inside the bottom four after two matches, the Pilgrims have won five of their previous seven to top the division after nine fixtures, though several of the surrounding teams do have games in hand on Tom Cleverly’s men.

Although they were beaten 4-2 by Coventry City in August to bow out of the EFL Cup at the second round stage, Argyle have also made great progress in the cup competitions and added to their season opening 2-0 win over fierce rivals Exeter City by collecting five points from their two EFL Trophy matches to sit top of Group 13 with one game to play.

Heading into Saturday’s clash, the Pilgrims will be confident of maintaining their spot at the top too, with the hosts losing just one of their previous eight matches against AFC Wimbledon and posting a 3-1 win over the Dons when the sides last met in April.

Having lost seven of their last eight matches in the 2025-26 League One season, finishing just four points above Exeter who occupied the final relegation place, AFC Wimbledon will be delighted with their start to the latest campaign after maintaining their third tier status.

Much like Saturday’s opposition, the Dons got their league endeavours off to a slow start as they failed to win either of their opening two fixtures, but having lost just one of their six matches since, Johnnie Jackson’s side have risen to ninth in the table and are only one point outside the playoff positions after eight games.

However, despite claiming a penalty shootout triumph over Newport County in their first competitive clash of the season, AFC Wimbledon have struggled in the cup competitions, suffering a 3-0 defeat against Fulham to crash out of the EFL Cup in the second round and failing to win either of their first two EFL Trophy matches to leave them outside the progression places in Group 14.

With five losses in their latest six games against Plymouth, the Dons are certainly underdogs heading into Saturday’s encounter, but having earned an impressive 2-1 win when these sides met at Home Park a year ago, the visitors will be hoping that they can cause an upset once again this weekend and continue their steady rise up the league table.

Plymouth Argyle League One form:

Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):

AFC Wimbledon League One form:

AFC Wimbledon form (all competitions):

Team News

Plymouth continue to be without both Owen Oseni and Michael Baidoo, however the pair are expected to return to action from ankle and Achilles injuries respectively next month.

Having suffered a knee issue against Burton Albion, Spanish defender Julio Pleguezuelo has been sidelined for the previous two matches, though the scan results have been somewhat positive with a return before the end of the month possible.

Alex Hartridge also looks set to be reintroduced in the near future after spending the past month out with an ankle problem, but the Pilgrims will have to wait a little longer to welcome back Malachi Boateng as he continues his recovery on a knee injury.

Jackson will be delighted to have Harry Cornick, Marcus Browne, Joe Kirby and Sam Goma at his disposal on Saturday as the quartet returned to action in a behind closed doors friendly against Millwall last week before all featuring in Tuesday’s EFL Trophy clash with Barnet.

However, the Dons remain without midfielder James Tilley as the 28-year-old continues his recovery from a hamstring injury sustained against Bromley last month, while striker Mathew Stevens is labelled as a doubt for the weekend with a similar issue.

With three goals so far this campaign, including the opener in the visitors’ previous league outing, former Exeter man Jayden Stockley is definitely AFC Wimbledon’s biggest threat and will be looking to add to his two career strikes against Plymouth on Saturday.

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Edwards, Ross, MacKenzie, Rendle; Curtis, Bakinson, White, Irow; Evans, Pepple

AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:

Bursik; Yiadom, Ogundere, Sweeney, Seddon, Sasu; Richards, Harrison, Smith, Maycock; Stockley

We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-0 AFC Wimbledon

After a worrying start to the season, Wimbledon will be far more content with their recent form and can be optimistic about their chances of picking up a result at Home Park on Saturday afternoon.

However, with just one loss in their previous seven matches in all competitions, Plymouth are currently a force to be reckoned with and we think they will keep their spot at the League One summit with yet another win this weekend.

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