A look ahead to MK Dons' crucial play-off second leg against Crawley Town

The stakes are simple for MK Dons heading into this evening’s game against Crawley Town - they must win by at least three goals come full-time to remain in with a chance of reaching Wembley.

Tuesday night’s 3-0 humbling at the Broadfield Stadium has put the Red Devils in pole position to secure a spot in the final against Crewe Alexandra. But the Railwaymen themselves overturned a 2-0 first leg deficit to overcome Doncaster Rovers on Friday night to book their place in the final, giving Dons hope.

There have been plenty of occasions where sides have overcome significant margins in the second leg, and Dons will be looking to examples of their own from this season, having scored three in the first half on five occasions this term. They have also bounced back with victory after each of the nine league defeats suffered under Mike Williamson’s tenure in charge.

Dons’ home record is strong too, the third best in League Two across the season, behind only Mansfield and Wrexham, both of whom secured automatic promotion.

This evening will be Crawley’s sixth visit to Stadium MK, but have to look back more than a decade for their only win there, losing on their last three visits, failing to score in each. The Red Devils though finished the season strongly on the road, winning six, drawing one and losing one of their last eight away games, and have only conceded more than three goals in a game twice since the turn of the year.

Referee Sebastian Stockbridge will take charge of the game - his 29th game of the season. He has run up 136 yellow cards, shown two reds and awarded 16 penalties. His last Dons game came in December when he oversaw the 2-0 win over Forest Green Rovers. Overall, he has taken charge of Dons 14 times, with the side winning six, drawing and losing four each.

Matthew Sowerby and Justin Amey will run the lines with Fourth Official Tom Reeves and Reserve Assistant Referee Danny Jarvis.

According to Bet365, MK Dons are 8/13 to win the game, Crawley are 15/4 to win and the draw is 7/2. They also have Dons at 9/2 to reach Wembley, while Crawley at 1/7.