It is unlikely that Wigan will lose all four of their games in hand, meaning that MK Dons must keep up their fine form to continue to apply pressure on the top two, but they could not extend their winning streak to four consecutive games on Tuesday.
Last time out, Manning’s side had to settle for a 1-1 draw against 19th-placed Fleetwood Town despite Harry Darling giving the visitors an early lead, with MK Dons not being able to then go on and extend that lead.
The Dons will want to translate their excellent record in the final third away from home on to their own patch, having netted 31 times in 16 matches on their travels, while scoring 11 fewer on home soil.
Nevertheless, MK Dons still have a good points return from their home fixtures, and they need to add three more points on the board this Saturday, which could see them move up into the automatic promotion positions.
Ipswich have lost just twice in their last nine outings, since Kieran McKenna was appointed manager of the Tractor Boys in the middle of December, and another clean sheet helped them to a 1-0 win against Doncaster in midweek.
Tyreeq Bakinson scored his first goal for the club after arriving from Bristol City on loan, but the visitors may have felt disappointed that they did not add to the 24-year-old’s strike, having registered seven shots on target.
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Five of McKenna’s side’s last six victories have all come with clean sheets, suggesting that Ipswich will look to break into the top six with a strong defence as their platform.
Saturday’s outing will be Ipswich’s second away match in the space of five days, so if they can collect another three points to make it six out of six for this week, that could be a statement of intent from the Tractor Boys.
Ipswich and MK Dons played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Portman Road earlier in the campaign, with Ipswich being pegged back twice after taking the lead on two occasions
