Preview: AFC Wimbledon vs. Colchester United - prediction, team news, lineups

AFC Wimbledon were beaten 1-0 at home by Sutton United, while Colchester lost by the same scoreline at Milton Keynes Dons.

Match preview

Indeed, that win for MK Dons meant that AFC Wimbledon slipped out of the play-off positions following their disappointing defeat to Sutton at Plough Lane.

The Wombles went into the Boxing Day encounter as heavy favourites given that their opponents were rock-bottom prior to kick-off. Yet Omar Sowunmi's strike after 62 minutes proved enough to hand Sutton their first away victory of the season, and move them off the foot of the table in the process.

After finishing 21st last season, Johnnie Jackson's side are somewhat surprise contenders towards the upper echelons of League Two this time around. Yet having spent six campaigns in League One before their relegation in 2022, they may feel that is exactly where they belong.

Jackson - who spent three years at Colchester as a player - knows that his side must avoid defeat at the very least against his former side to have a chance of leapfrogging their fierce rivals MK Dons or Crewe Alexandra. That would mean ending the calendar year in the top seven places, which is where they will hope to finish in May.

Colchester, on the other hand, would almost certainly settle for survival having lost six of their last seven league games. Sutton's victory against their forthcoming opponents means only six points separates the U's and the relegation spots.

Matthew Etherington's side came so close to securing a precious point away to in-form MK Dons. But former Ipswich Town forward Ellis Harrison struck with only one minute of normal time to break the visitors' hearts.

After impressively beating Salford City prior to Christmas, Etherington and his players may still feel that they have turned a corner given their resistance against MK Dons. They faced 27 shots in total, yet Harrison's goal was one of only four shots on target for the hosts.

However, that defeat made it four on the spin away from home for Colchester, meaning they are unlikely to travel to southwest London with any confidence of gaining a result on Friday. With Etherington's first managerial job increasingly coming under pressure, they need to stop the rot sooner rather than later.

AFC Wimbledon League Two form:

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AFC Wimbledon form (all competitions):

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Colchester United League Two form:

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Colchester United form (all competitions):

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Team News

AFC Wimbledon will remain without Paul Kalambayi, who is set to miss the entire season following knee surgery.

Jackson may look to freshen things up given the short turnaround between his side's dismal defeat to Sutton and this match, with Josh Davison and Harry Pell likely contenders to start after coming off the bench on Boxing Day.

Colchester, meanwhile, will travel without Fiacre Kelleher, Nico Lawrence and Jay Mingi due to muscular problems.

As a result, Jackson has fewer options to shake things up, but Matt Jay could provide fresh impetus in attack after being an unused substitute against MK Dons.

AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:

Bass; Biler, Pearce, Johnson, Currie; Tilley, Little, Reeves, Pell; Al-Hamadi, Davison

Colchester United possible starting lineup:

Goodman; Egbo, Mitchell, Hall, Iandolo; Chilvers, Read; Fevrier, McGeehan, Jay; Taylor

We say: AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Colchester United

Both sides suffered disappointing defeats on Boxing Day, so they will be keen to return with victories on Friday. However, Colchester have lost six of their last seven matches to slide perilously closer to the relegation zone.

AFC Wimbledon, on the other hand, may view their surprising home defeat to Sutton as a blip. We expect them to win here and potentially move back into the play-off positions as a result.

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