Notts County will attempt to overturn a narrow deficit when they travel to Plough Lane for Saturday’s League Two playoff semi-final second leg against AFC Wimbledon.
The hosts have their noses in front after recording a narrow 1-0 victory in last Saturday’s meeting at Meadow Lane.
Match preview
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Wimbledon are looking to end their three-year stint in the fourth tier after collecting 73 points from 46 matches to clinch a playoff berth via a fifth-place finish.
They ended a four-game winless run with a narrow 1-0 away win over Grimsby Town on the final day of the season, before they repeated that scoreline in the first leg to clinch their sixth win in four away meetings with Notts County.
Riley Harbottle chose the opportune time to open his account for the season, with his header putting Wimbledon in pole position to set up a Wembley date against either Walsall or Chesterfield.
However, Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson will be aware that his team still have significant work to do to book a final spot, especially as they have struggled in recent outings at Plough Lane, having won just one of their previous five home matches (D2, L2).
With that said, they managed to finish the season with the second-best home record in League Two after recording 13 wins, five draws, and five defeats in their 23 league matches in front of their own supporters.
They also finished the campaign with the division’s best home record with just 35 goals conceded, which should give them confidence that they can negate the threat posed by a Notts County team that scored more away goals than any other side in League Two this season (37).
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Notts County finished in sixth place and just a point behind Wimbledon after they won 20, drew 12 and lost 14 of their 46 league matches this term.
After winning the National League playoffs in 2022-23, Notts County is now hoping to secure a second promotion in three seasons to return to the third tier for the first time in 10 years.
Unfortunately for the Magpies, they have hit a poor run of form at the crucial stage of the season, having lost five of their previous seven matches, including three of their last four.
They fell to a fourth consecutive home loss in last Saturday’s first leg, as they failed to produce a response to Harbottle’s header in a game where they finished with ten men following Alassana Jatta‘s late dismissal for a two-footed challenge on Alistair Smith.
While they may be trailing in the tie, Stuart Maynard‘s side will draw inspiration from the fact that they ended the regular season with the division’s second-best away record following a return of 37 points from 23 road trips.
However, they have lost each of their three previous away meetings with Wimbledon, meaning they will have to record their first head-to-head away win if they are to progress to the final or, at the very least, send the tie to extra time.
Team News
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Wimbledon released a statement on Tuesday to confirm defender Sam Hutchinson has undergone heart surgery after he was taken ill following the win over Grimsby Town earlier this month, where he scored the decisive goal.
Providing there are no fresh injury concerns, Jackson could decide to stick with an unchanged lineup for the second leg.
Matty Stevens will look to add to the 20 goals he has scored this season when he features up front alongside Marcus Browne, who is set to start a third consecutive game since returning from injury.
As for the visitors, experienced forward David McGoldrick has been ruled out of the second leg and the potential final after he picked up an injury in the last stages of last Saturday’s defeat.
Top scorer Jatta is suspended after being shown a straight red card in the fifth minute of stoppage time in the first leg.
With McGoldrick and Jatta unavailable, Maynard could select Charlie Whitaker and Mai Traore for Saturday’s clash at Plough Lane.
AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:
Goodman; Harbottle, Lewis, Johnson; Tilley, Smith, Reeves, Hippolyte, Neufville; Browne, Stevens
Notts County possible starting lineup:
Bass; Macari, Platt, Bedeau; Jones, Abbott, Palmer, Austin; Grant, Whittaker, Traore
We say: AFC Wimbledon 2-1 Notts County (Wimbledon to win 3-1 on aggregate)
Notts County will be without two of their key forwards for the second leg, and with that in mind, we think they will fail in their bid to turn the tie in their favour by falling to a narrow defeat, especially as they have lost each of their previous three away games against Wimbledon.
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