Derby clash has heightened importance at both ends of the table

Scott Twine in action against AFC Wimbledon when the sides met in January at Stadium MK

Previous matches between MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon have, until this point, had little more than pride at stake. Saturday’s game at Plough Lane though will have big connotations at both ends of the League One table.

The fate of both sides in the last 20 matches could not be more opposite. Liam Manning’s side have gone from strength-to-strength. Since Boxing Day, they have lost just once in League One, and though they have played two more games than Wigan and Rotherham, sit in the automatic promotion spots.

The same cannot be said for AFC Wimbledon’s fortunes. Their run without a win now sits at 22 League One games, dating back to December 7. Mired in the relegation zone, Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with ten-man Charlton was their first point after six consecutive defeats but Morecambe’s shock win over Oxford United means the gap to safety now sits at four points.

Form in these sorts of emotionally charged and tense atmospheres can go out the window, but Manning’s side seem to thrive in those environments this season. Wins at Wycombe, Sunderland, Portsmouth and Rotherham were the epitome of that and have put Dons in a position where they are one of the more feared sides in the division.

More so than perhaps even the heated rivalry between the sides, Saturday’s result will make a huge difference at both ends of the table. From Jon Otsemobor’s ‘Heel of God’ in the first meeting, the ill-fated first trip to Kingsmeadow, or the empty Plough Lane affair last season which Dons won at a canter, not much other than social media venom has been riding on 12 previous clashes between the sides. Not this time though.

A win for MK Dons will keep them in the automatic promotion spots, above chasing Rotherham and will only further deepen AFC Wimbledon’s concerns as they look to avoid relegation for the first time in their history.

Defeat though could be a hammer blow to their top-two credentials while breathing life into the London side, giving them hope of avoiding the drop for another term.

With so much riding on the game in that sense, and bragging rights amongst the fans already worth their weight in gold, one side deciding the fate of the other makes this derby the most important in either club’s history.