Wycombe Wanderers and MK Dons will look to take another step towards promotion when they square off in the first leg of their League One playoff semi-final on Thursday night.
While the visitors to Adams Park only narrowly missed out on a place in the top two, sixth-placed Wycombe ended the regular campaign as one of the form teams in the division.
At the start of the season, MK Dons would have taken a playoff spot without a second thought if it had been offered to them, but there are certainly mixed feelings about finishing in third place.
Liam Manning’s team have been sensational throughout this campaign, collecting 89 points from their 46 fixtures, but only winning three of their final six fixtures resulted in them missing out on the automatic spots by a point.
On a positive note, they concluded the campaign with the demolition of Plymouth Argyle, who subsequently missed out on their playoffs themselves after such a humbling.
Scott Twine scored four times during the 5-0 victory at Home Park, taking his tally to 20 goals and 13 assists in the third tier this season, and the playmaker has a huge part to play in the end-of-season finale.
MK Dons also have fond memories of the corresponding league fixture, Twine netting the only strike of the contest on January 29.
Meanwhile, it was Wycombe who directly benefitted from their upcoming opponents defeating Plymouth, and Gareth Ainsworth will feel that his side deserved that bit of good fortune.
A seven-match winless streak soon after the turn of the year left Wycombe scrapping to keep their promotion hopes alive, particularly with some of the teams around them improving their form.
Links >> Stream 1 HD Stream 2 HD Stream 3 HD Stream 4 HD
However, the Chairboys ended the campaign on a 12-match unbeaten run, collecting a total of 28 points to edge out Plymouth courtesy of their final-day triumph at Burton Albion.
Although a draw would have proven enough, Jordan Obita’s winner five minutes from time has maintained Wycombe’s momentum, even if just seven goals have come from the last five outings.
