A look ahead to MK Dons' trip to Brunton Park to take on struggling Carlisle United

MK Dons could deal another blow to Carlisle United’s EFL future with a win at Brunton Park when the sides meet on Tuesday night.

Ben Gladwin’s side will be eager to put more distance between themselves and the bottom two, the gap now 15 points after beating Cheltenham Town last time out - their second win in three matches.

Mark Hughes took over in Cumbria last month, replacing ex-Dons boss Mike Williamson, with the mission of trying to keep the team in the Football League. Sitting bottom of the league for much of the campaign thus far, Saturday’s 2-1 win over Bromley drew them level with Morecambe in 23rd spot, but both teams are seven points from safety with the games quickly getting ticked off.

Since the former Manchester United and Barcelona striker took charge, Carlisle’s form has picked up, losing only two of their last seven, losing only once at home under his watch.

This game was originally scheduled for January but went the way of the weather when freezing conditions made the pitch unplayable.

It was a pretty straight-forward 3-0 win for Dons when the sides met back in August, but it was a performance which alerted Carlisle’s owners to Williamson, who at the time was head coach at MK1, luring him to the north a month later. It is more than five years since their last trip to Brunton Park, when Dons ran out 3-2 winners in February 2019.

The sides have met 15 times, with each winning seven games and only one draw.

Referee Edward Duckworth will take charge of the game. In his 24 games this season, he has booked 105, sent five off and awarded six penalties. His two Dons games previously have both been at Stadium MK last season: the 2-1 defeat to Stockport County and the emphatic 5-0 win over Walsall last March. Paul Newhouse and Mark Cunliffe will run the lines with Fourth Official Jacob Graham.

Bookmakers bet365.com have MK Dons at 19/10 to win the game, with Carlisle at 27/20 and 23/10 the draw.