Cambridge United out for revenge against possession monsters MK Dons

November was always going to be a tough month for Cambridge United.

Even before the start of the campaign, this always looked like it would be Cambridge’s most difficult month of the season. Their First Round FA Cup tie would precede consecutive away games against MK Dons and Rotherham United, before hosting Wigan Athletic and Sunderland the following week. To make matters worse, their mammoth trip to Morecambe, originally scheduled for October, was rearranged for Tuesday 2nd November.

Thankfully, Mark Bonner’s men came away with all three points at the Mazuma Stadium, making it two wins and two clean sheets on the bounce that catapulted them up to 10th in League One. Given their agonising six-week winless run beforehand, this result came at the perfect time.

In a way, this could be a good time to play League One’s promotion hopefuls. Cambridge’s league position have given both the fans and the players plenty of confidence, despite drawing 2-2 away at Northampton Town in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Consecutive clean sheets in the league will also provide a huge boost for the U’s, who leaked goals on an incredibly worrying basis throughout October.

Earlier in the season, Lloyd Jones had struck up an impressive centre-back partnership with Conor Masterson, and there are now hopes that they can re-establish themselves as one of the better defensive duos in the division.

While their recent victories against AFC Wimbledon and Morecambe felt absolutely crucial, facing MK Dons in their own backyard is a completely different challenge. In fact, it’s one that Cambridge know far too well.

The last time the U’s faced the Dons was on New Year’s Day in 2019 when both sides were in League Two. The Buckinghamshire outfit demolished Colin Calderwood’s side as the Dons ran out 6-0 victors. They went on to secure automatic promotion back to League One that season, while Cambridge finished in 21st, six points above the relegation zone.

While the majority of the players, and indeed the manager himself, have all moved on since then, the fans certainly won’t have forgotten their last trip to Stadium MK. Despite that, more than 1500 away supporters are expected to make the short journey to Milton Keynes on Saturday afternoon.

The Dons are far from invincible at home, having won four of their seven home games. However, the only opponents to take three points on their turf are Rotherham and Sunderland, who are arguably the two favourites for automatic promotion this season.

Liam Manning’s side also boast the highest possession stats in League One, averaging 61.5% across their 15 games so far this season. To contrast, Cambridge have the fifth lowest average possession rates in the division at just 43.3%.

MK Dons aren’t quite the same possession machines as they were under Russell Martin last season, although they did manage to amass 84.3% of the ball in their 4-1 win at Gillingham, which is the highest figure that any side in the entire EFL has managed this season. However, that could end up playing into Cambridge’s favour.

In four of their five league wins this season, the U’s have lost the possession battle, with the only exception being the 3-0 win against Burton Albion back in August. In fact, Cambridge’s highest possession percentage came at home to Gillingham, a game which they lost 2-0. Bonner’s side are quite clearly a stronger side off the ball.

The 1-0 win against Bolton Wanderers is perhaps the best evidence of this. The U’s scored after just 16 minutes before allowing the Trotters to hold the ball while they soaked up the pressure. Their rigid shape and brave defending saw them hold onto the lead. It was a trademark underdog performance, one that the U’s have replicated on more than one occasion this season.

This may be where MK Dons come unstuck. For all their possession, they’ve only scored 10 goals in their seven home league games this season. That’s two fewer than Cambridge have, although the U’s have played two more games than the Dons.

Scott Twine has been the main attacking threat for Manning’s side, having registered six league goals so far this season. However, that’s still one less than Cambridge’s Joe Ironside has managed. Dons striker Mo Eisa has managed just four goals this season, although there may be an increased goalscoring pressure on him with Troy Parrott set to miss Saturday’s game after being called up by the Republic of Ireland.

Saturday’s game will also see Dons defender Harry Darling face his former side for the first time. The 22-year-old is a product of the U’s academy, having made 55 appearances for the club before moving to the Buckinghamshire outfit in January 2021. Fans have been amazed at how well he managed the step up to League One, and have widely tipped him to quickly progress up the football pyramid.

The pressure will be on MK Dons this weekend, as they look to prove their play-off credentials and improve their home record. While Cambridge may have more than 1500 fans in the away end begging for revenge, a defeat would be far from disastrous. However, the U’s fixture list has them playing four of the current top seven in the next month alongside an FA Cup replay against Northampton and a Papa John’s Trophy round of 32 tie.

I know I post #CamUTD’s *potential* fixture list all the time, but I tell you what, this is a sickener.

Saturday / Tuesday from now until 7th December, with a midweek trip to Exeter or Bradford not off the cards either.

A lot of “what if’s”, but… yikes… pic.twitter.com/4MmilvUoMj

— Alex Jones (@AlexJCambs) November 9, 2021

Cambridge have been playing every Saturday and Tuesday since 16th October, and there is a genuine chance that this could continue until December 18th depending on their results in the FA Cup. While Bonner prefers to have a small squad, there is no doubting that his side will be stretched over the upcoming festive period.

Jones’ recent injury has been a major blow for Cambridge, although Jubril Okedina has stepped up in his absence. Suspensions for Paul Digby, Adam May and George Williams have also forced Cambridge’s head coach to shuffle the pack in recent weeks, with Ben Worman stepping into the starting lineup and Lewis Simper being recalled from his loan spell at Yeovil Town.

Wes Hoolahan could end up being the difference maker, however. The 39-year-old has missed Cambridge’s last three competitive matches but looks set to return to the starting lineup to face MK Dons on Saturday. It remains to be seen how regularly he’ll feature over the course of his side’s nightmarish fixture list.

Cambridge have had an impressive start to life in League One, but maintaining a run of positive results over the coming weeks could prove decisive as they look to avoid relegation back to the fourth tier.

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