Can Northampton Town end their scoring drought away at MK Dons?

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MK Dons will be hoping to inflict further misery on managerless Northampton Town this Saturday as they face the Cobblers at Stadium MK. 

Fresh off the back of a superb victory on the road at Hull City last weekend, Russell Martin and his troops host struggling Northampton and will be looking to gain victory over their neighbours, who sit precariously in 21st place and in the relegation zone thanks to an inferior goal difference.

Martin’s men ran out 1-0 winners in their last performance thanks to a second-half penalty from Scott Fraser, earning three crucial points against a promotion candidate and continues their current momentum, picking up seven points from the last three matches. Arriving into the clash in 13th place, if results go their way they can enter the top half of the table for the first time this season.

Fraser, who is MK’s joint top scorer with nine goals this season, was one of manager Martin’s first signings, and has truly hit the ground running with a number of Championship sides looking to secure his signature in the coming summer, should he leave the Dons.

Having overseen the busiest window in the history of the club with 16 transfers in and out, the 35-year-old manager had his work cut out to see his side gel as quickly as possible.

Having moved on the experience of Richard Keogh, George Williams and Baily Cargill, the MK Dons boss in his first position has signed the youthfulness of Zak Jules, Harry Darling and Matt O’Riley, who have all hit the ground running and have thoroughly impressed the supporters.

Northampton, under the stewardship of Jon Brady whilst the search goes on for a permanent replacement for Keith Curle, who was relieved of his duties as manager following a poor run of form, will be hoping to put to an end to the barren spell as soon as possible, with the Cobblers having failed to score in their last six matches.

Having gone over 540 minutes without scoring a goal, the Northampton caretaker boss will be desperate for his players to leave it all on the field in Buckinghamshire and turn over a new leaf in the fight to avoid relegation.

For the Cobblers to have any chance of getting out of the situation they find themselves in, a lot will depend on the goalscoring abilities of Sam Hoskins and Danny Rose. Both strikers have netted four times this season and along with Swindon Town, boast the unwanted record of being the side in League One with the lowest-scoring top goal scorer.

A further worrying statistic for Brady to overturn is that his side sit 24th and rock bottom of the form table also, having not won a match in their last nine matches, only mustering four points in the process.

Despite all the negativity surrounding the PTS Academy Stadium, they were able to pick up an impressive point away at Portman Road, drawing 0-0 at Ipswich Town. Brady’s side created several chances and were unlucky not to collect the victory and move out of the drop zone.

MK enter the clash without any new injury concerns and fans will be delighted at the prospect of midfield duo Jordan Houghton and David Kasumu returning into the matchday squad, both returning from lengthy injuries.

Cameron Jerome may also return having sat out the previous game whilst Louis Thompson and Kieran Agard remain the two long-term absentees.

Northampton will be hoping that Alan Sheehan and Mickel Miller can both return to the side after recent absences, with Scott Pollock remaining sidelined with the match coming too soon despite a return to training.

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