Preston North End Vs Milton Keynes Dons Match Preview
npower League One Sunday 14th October 2012
Kick-off: 13:15
Venue: Deepdale
Referee: Craig Pawson
Betting Odds: Preston North End 7/4 Draw 9/4 Milton Keynes Dons 6/4
Form: Preston North End LLWWLW Milton Keynes Dons DWLWDD
As the top two tiers enjoy a break from domestic competitions, for Leagues One and Two it's business as usual.
The only exception is that North End's next game has been selected for Sky Sports' Super Sunday, and will kick off a day of televised Football League action.
The nation will be able to witness the Lilywhites play host to the Dons of Milton Keynes for just the second time since the Crazy Gang disbanded and moved from South West London to Buckinghamshire.
Karl Robinson's men, a hot favourite for promotion this season, find themselves in the much coveted playoff places, despite being held to two straight draws in their last two matches.
Despite their lofty position, the Dons are just two points above North End meaning that a home win for the Lilywhites and Graham Westley's men will leapfrog those of Karl Robinson.
A victory in front of the Sky cameras would be the perfect follow up to Tuesday's 4-2 win over Morecambe, after a pulsating and penetrative second half performance at the Globe Arena.
Previous Meetings (click here for head-to-head stats)
Since their inception in 2004, the MK Dons have only visited Deepdale once before.
Said visit was back in April on a day that was marked as Sir Tom Finney Day in honour of the great man's 90th birthday.
With North End trailing thanks to a 27th minute Darren Potter goal heading into the closing moments, it looked as though the Dons would be party poppers for Sir Tom's big day.
However, youngster Bailey Wright levelled in the 90th minute to salvage a point, ironic given it was Sir Tom's 90th birthday.
The trip to stadium:mk in December last year saw the Lilywhites, under the stewardship of David Unsworth and Graham Alexander, notched up a 1-0 win thanks to a Paul Parry header.
As a result, MK Dons are still looking for their first victory over North End.
Team News
Shane Cansdell-Sherriff is back in contention for North End after the Aussie centre-half served his one match suspension during the win over Morecambe on Tuesday.
Akpo Sodje's brace in the same game means the Greenwich-born striker will be eager for a starting berth whilst fellow hit man Stuart Beavon is likely to come back into the side.
For the visitors, defender Anthony Kay will miss out through suspension after picking up his 5th yellow card during MK Dons' draw with Portsmouth on Saturday.