AFC Wimbledon vs Scunthorpe Predictions

Wimbledon’s pleasing start to the season was beginning to become a thing of the past, though the Dons bounced back to regaining the winning thread last time out, as they secured an away-day win at Priestfield. With that victory under their belts, Neal Ardley’s men will be looking to pick up three more points when they welcome Scunthorpe to Kingsmeadow on Saturday afternoon.

Wimbledon’s form had begun to wane somewhat, though their performances continued to be useful. For example, when they lost 3-0 away at Burton, despite what the score-line suggested, Neal Ardley’s men were certainly not walked all over. Considering that they were unlucky to finish up on the end of a 3-0 defeat at Pirelli Stadium, it was no surprise that the Dons regained the winning thread last time out. By delivering a typically solid performance, Ardley’s men edged out Gillingham by a goal to nil on the road.

Last season, although Wimbledon found themselves down near the foot of the table for much of the campaign, the Dons weren’t the easiest side to beat and it looks as though that is still very much the case, though crucially, Wimbledon are now offering more at the other end of the pitch. As things stand in League One, Wimbledon are the fourth best team in terms of expected goal difference.

Unlike their hosts, Scunthorpe have struggled massively to keep things tight this season, and although they offered more going forward last time out, the fact that they conceded three goals suggests that they’re yet to improve at the back, despite making a managerial change recently.

Not only have Saturday’s visitors conceded a whopping sixteen goals this season, but they rank very poorly in terms of chances conceded. In fact, as things stand, the Iron are the worst team in the division in terms of expected goals against, while they also sit bottom of the expected goal difference table.

Last weekend, Scunthorpe did offer a bit more going forward, but their defensive efforts were typically weak. To score goals against this Wimbledon side, they’ll probably need to do more than they did against a defensively weak Rochdale side, while if they don’t sharpen up at the back, a counter-attacking Dons outfit should have no problem picking them off.

The Dons aren’t the sort of team that will go out and batter sides by three or four goals to nil all that often, but they are very tough to break down, especially at home, while they’re very good at getting a result against teams who give plenty away. Last weekend’s 1-0 victory is what Wimbledon are all about, and a repeat performance would likely see them walk away with a similar result.

They’ve simply bettered Scunthorpe in every area this season, so it’s easy to fancy them, while it’s also easy to feel that, based on the recent achievements of both, they ought to be a tad shorter in the betting. All things considered, combining a home win with ‘Under 3.5 Goals’ catches the eye.