A look ahead to MK Dons' season opener with Oldham Athletic
Previewing the first game of the season as MK Dons host Oldham Athletic at Stadium MK, kicking off at 3pm
The talking stops on Saturday when MK Dons kick off the new League Two season against Oldham Athletic.
Paul Warne oversaw four games at the end of last season, winning one and drawing four, but only scoring one goal during the run-in.
Seven new faces have been recruited over the course of the summer, with the majority of them brought in with the intention of fixing Dons’ lack of goals.
Installed as the early favourites to win the title this season, despite finishing 19th last time out – the lowest in the club’s history – Dons kick off against newly promoted Oldham Athletic at Stadium MK keen to get off to a good start.
Micky Mellon’s side returned to the Football League after three years in the National League, beating Southend United in the play-offs at Wembley to secure their comeback.
The Latics have had a solid if unspectacular pre-season campaign heading into the curtain raiser, drawing with Dundee and Dundee United, beating Blackburn U21s 2-1 before being beaten 1-0 by Graham Alexander’s Bradford City.
Saturday’s meeting will be the 25th clash between the sides, having been regular opponents through the years. Dons come out with 13 wins from those 25 matches, with Oldham having claimed seven wins. The last of those games came in 2018/19, when they met on opening day at Boundary Park. Despite a nasty facial injury to Connor McGrandles, Dons came out 2-1 winners in Lancashire, as they did in the reverse fixture later that season.
Oldham also hold the dubious record of being on the receiving end of Dons’ biggest ever win, losing 7-0 at Stadium MK in December 2014, while the sides also held a dramatic 4-4 draw in 2017.
Warne will be without injured defenders Sam Sherring, Nathan Thompson and Laurence Maguire, with striker Scott Hogan and Dan Crowley still sidelined after suffering injuries at the end of last season.
Referee Matthew Russell will take charge of the game. In his 25 games last season, he booked 74 players and sent two off. Dons fans saw him in January when he oversaw the 1-0 defeat to Karl Robinson’s Salford City. Overall, he has officiated two games for the club, the other being 2-2 draw with Arsenal U21s in the EFL Trophy last season.
Harley Hetherington and Daniel Robinson will run the lines with Fourth Official Christopher Husband.
Bookmakers bet365.com have Dons at 8/13 to win the game, with Oldham at 9/2 and 13/5 the draw.