MK Dons and Derby County face off in the Championship on Saturday lunchtime in what will be the first ever competitive meeting between the two sides.
The Rams have improved under Paul Clement in recent weeks to get their campaign back on track, while their opponents have moved the opposite way down the table.
MK Dons
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Following the midweek thrashing at the hands of Southampton in the League Cup, it is now five defeats on the bounce for Karl Robinson's out-of-sorts side.
The emphatic margin of the 6-0 reverse on home soil, coming 11 months after their shock win over Manchester United in the same competition, has left confidence at a real low inside the dressing room.
Robinson admitted, in fact, that each member of his playing squad was "embarrassed" by the nature of the defeat, which leaves the Dons in desperate need of a result this coming weekend.
A quick response will be the target for last season's promoted League One side, as they look to put a month's worth of defeats behind them in order to push away from the dreaded drop zone.
Key to that will be sorting out their home form, having picked up just three points from their opening four games at this level, while the attacking stats must also improve drastically.
Only Preston North End and Bolton Wanderers, two of just four sides below Robinson's men in the league table, have scored fewer than the Dons' paltry tally of seven so far this term.
Delving a little deeper into this area of the Buckinghamshire outfit's game, no team has had fewer shots on target in the Championship this season (23), which perhaps goes a long way to showing just where the biggest problem lies.
Robinson must now stop the rot if he wants to prevent his side from slipping into the bottom three, yet with no wins in their last seven 90-minute affairs, the psychological factor may simply prove to be too much to overcome against the Rams.
Recent form in Championship: WDLLLL
Recent form (all competitions): WLLLLL
Derby County
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On the subject of finding the back of the net, Derby have also had real problems breaking down defences in their opening eight games under the watch of ex-Real Madrid assistant Clement.
It is all the more concerning when considering that no team spent more than County during the summer transfer window, with the late captures of Bradley Johnson and Jacob Butterfield just adding to their riches.
The form has improved of late, though, with recent back-to-back away wins showing for the first time this season that the Rams are likely contenders for a top-two spot come May.
Yet another stalemate last time out when drawing 0-0 against Burnley makes it a similar story for Derby on home soil, having still failed to register maximum points at the iPro Stadium during Clement's tenure.
On the flip side of things, the Midlanders have also made themselves incredibly hard to beat, as only Leeds United have taken all three points off them in 2015-16.
Going further back, and taking all competitions into account, the Burnley draw makes it just one defeat in seven competitive outings for Derby, while they have lost only one of their last eight league matches.
In order to turn this rather slow start into something more substantial, Clement must now ensure that his side show the additional quality needed in the final third to come out on top in tight games.
With victory at Stadium MK potentially enough to lift County into the playoff zone for the first time, motivation certainly should not be any sort of issue.
Recent form (all competitions): DDLWWD
Team News
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Dons could hand league debuts to Jake Forster-Caskey and Nicky Maynard, who have both joined over the past week to provide some much-needed depth, though they may be slowly integrated into the first-team fold.
The likes of Sam Gallagher and Dean Bowditch will return to the starting lineup on the back of the defeat against Southampton, as Robinson's men look to kick-start their campaign on home soil.
In terms of the visitors, Tom Ince will be among the matchday squad after missing out on the poor goalless draw on Monday night, yet Craig Bryson will be left out once more.
Skipper Chris Baird is another who has trained in recent days and is in line to start at the back, with Will Hughes and Jake Buxton among the long-term absentees.
MK Dons possible starting lineup:
Martin; Spence, McFadzean, Kay, Lewington; Baker, Poyet; Hall, Carruthers, Bowditch; Gallagher
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Carson; Christie, Keogh, Shackell, Forsyth; Johnson, Butterfield, Hendrick; Russell, Martin, Ince
Head To Head
This weekend's clash will provide the first ever senior meeting between the two sides at any level.
Interestingly, both Derby and MK Dons are both camped inside the lower reaches when it comes to scoring the first goal in a game.
An equally pressing concern for the Dons is that they have failed to recover a single point when they have fallen behind so far in the second tier.
We say: MK Dons 0-2 Derby County
MK Dons have conceded at least two goals in each of their last four Championship fixtures, which is likely to continue this weekend when a Derby side seeking a place inside the playoff zone visit Buckinghamshire.
Daniel Lewis
