Tuesday 14 March 2017 15:57, UK
Their chief executive may be hoping for a "normal" game, but for the home fans it will be anything but as AFC Wimbledon host MK Dons for the first time on Tuesday night.
Unlike some rivalries, the animosity between the two clubs currently plying their trade in Sky Bet League One barely needs an explanation. And this, their first meeting back in Womble territory, is set to see the away support receive quite the hostile reception at the Cherry Reds Record Stadium.
Extensive security measures have been put in place. Should owner Pete Winkelman or any senior MK staff attend, they will be sat in among the away support rather than in the directors' box, while the ticket allocation for travelling fans has also been reduced. MK fans can only attend the game if they travel on organised coaches, and will be allocated their match tickets on the way.
As per AFC club tradition, the away side will only be referred to as 'Milton Keynes' in the matchday programme, while Sky Sports also understands that the club's badge won't even be featured on the front page. The only mention of 'Dons' anywhere at Kingsmeadow will appear on the tickets for the game.
"We have never played them before here, so it's going to be a different environment from the normal one," AFC chief executive Erik Samuelson told the London Evening Standard. "The ultimate intention is to make it as normal a game as we can and that means trying to win it as well."
Both sides may be lingering in lower midtable - unlikely to challenge for promotion or be seriously threatened by relegation - but a victory for MK would see them climb back above AFC, a position their fans will not want to give up so quickly.
Sky Sports EFL expert David Prutton, meanwhile, says AFC boss Neal Ardley won't need to do much to motivate his players, and it will be the biggest game of the season for them.
"There are games where players and coaches say it's about the fans, but this is one of those games where it's genuinely true, because of how much bad blood there is between the two sides," said Prutton. "I don't think Ardley will need much more than that to motivate his players.
"It would be huge for the home fans to get a win in this game, and there will be plenty of needle to it. It's a glorious story for AFC to be where they are, and it will be the most important game of the season for them."
It isn't, however, a one-way street and MK are equally aware of the importance of the game to their own supporters.
"We know how much of a big game it is and how much it means to the fans and the club," midfielder Ben Reeves told the club's website. "We need to make sure we do everyone proud."
Since AFC's promotion to the EFL in 2011, the two sides have met four times. MK won the first two in the FA Cup in December 2012 and the League Cup in August 2014, while AFC got their first victory in the EFL Trophy two months later, winning 3-2 at Stadium MK.
A promotion for AFC and a relegation for MK meant that their first league meeting came last December in Milton Keynes, as a Dean Bowditch penalty secured a 1-0 win for the home side.
That victory was Robbie Neilson's first in charge of MK, and while he's expecting a hostile atmosphere at Kingsmeadow, he's confident there won't be any problems in the stands.
"It's a football match at the end of the day and that's what we'll be focusing on," he told Sky Sports. "I'm sure the people that go to the game will want to see a football match, and anything that goes on in the background is for the authorities to deal with.
"I expect there to be a really intense atmosphere, but that's what you want at football. There's a line I don't expect it to cross, and I'm sure it won't."
It is safe to say, though, that for the fans, players and neutrals alike, the old Dons versus the new will never be just another football match.
Keep up to date all the action between AFC Wimbledon and MK Dons on Soccer Special on Sky Sports News HQ from 7.30pm on Tuesday night, while you can also follow the game and see highlights on our digital platforms
