Roker Report Score Predictions: Will Sunderland make it two wins in a week at Stadium MK?

Last Time Out...

Will was the only one to lose ground from our first visit of the week to Stadium MK in midweek. The rest of our panel all correctly called a Sunderland victory, even if they didn’t have Jack Diamond to get our opening goal (which would have been awarded despite the deflection).

So no change in our table in terms of our positions, although Martin has managed to manoeuvre his way to within a maximum point prediction of Will at the foot of the table.

Today’s Game...

Just as our trip down south in midweek, confidence appears to be high among our panel with once again, all but one going for a Sunderland win.

For the Papa John’s Trophy tie it was Will who plumped for the draw and for today’s League One clash, this time around it’s Phil going for a Sunderland 1-1 special.

We’ll let you decide if their confidence is misplaced and let our panel explain their decisions in this round of predictions...

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Philip Butler Predicts...

Score Prediction: MK Dons 1 - 1 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Charlie Wyke

Whilst Sunderland’s second string side comfortably dispatched the Dons’ second string just a couple of days ago, it’s very rare that two games in quick succession produce the same result.

Hopefully I’m wrong, but nothing would be more Sunderland than winning comfortably in a cup we don’t really care about before dropping points in the league, just when we need them the most.

I’m still completely hopeless at predicting goalscorers, so I’m playing it safe with Charlie Wyke to get the Lads’ only goal of the game.

Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images

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Malcolm Dugdale Predicts...

Score Prediction: MK Dons 1 - 2 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Aiden McGeady

I don’t think the Saturday game will see as many fringe players in the respective starting XI’s of either side compared to midweek. As a result of that, I’m expecting we may let one in, but based on the whole 90 minutes from Tuesday, I believe we have more than enough to take this.

McGeady squirmed one under the goalie and if the pitch is rough again more shots like his will bobble, bounce and deflect into the net paving the way for one or two more with a bit of luck.

I’d love to see some of the strong performances from Tuesday provide a springboard for a run in the side, but then I believe the management of the game on Tuesday was pretty impressive, so as long as Johnson gets us all three then all is good.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

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Matthew Foster Predicts...

Score Prediction: MK Dons 0 - 2 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Lynden Gooch

Whilst Tuesday was a great performance against today’s opponents, I approach this clash with some caution, given both sides will take the league more seriously than the pizza trophy. Clearly they will want to bounce back immediately and pull further away from the bottom four, having moved eight points clear of the relegation zone with four wins in six.

They will also be hoping to light a fire under new loan signing Will Grigg, who has been about as on fire for Sunderland as a lit match in torrential rain. Thankfully though, he is unable to play against his parent club, which has saved us from his inevitable goal or two he’d been lacking in Sunderland colours.

We currently sit in sixth position, three points behind Peterborough in fifth but with only goal difference separating ourselves and Crewe in ninth. However, it’s hard to read too much into the league right now, with so many sides with a few games in hand.

I suspect it will be a more competitive game than Tuesday, but still feel we’ll have too much for MK, and I’m backing another win with Gooch opening the scoring.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

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Jack Howe-Gingell Predicts...

Score Prediction: MK Dons 0 - 2 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Jordan Jones

This all seems a little familiar!

We’re taking on MK Dons twice in a week, in an unusual twist of fate due to our previous tie in the Papa John’s Trophy.

It would be typical Sunderland to drop the ball in the league after a decent win in the cup, against the same opposition. However, I’m choosing to be optimistic - we should know their strengths and weaknesses, and should look to take advantage accordingly.

Last time, MK Dons looked passively threatening, for the most part. They played some decent stuff and appeared like they may score, without ever really testing the goalkeeper with regularity.

That said, Scott Fraser put in a good showing, and will have felt he could have contributed more. Plus they’re likely to unleash veteran Cameron Jerome, who has been the recipient of jibes from Sunderland supporters this week due to his previous comments - let’s hope this doesn’t come back to bite us.

If we can play as we did in the first twenty and the final thirty minutes, we should win without much issue. I’m going for the same scoreline and scorer from my midweek prediction - an hour for Jones will do him a world of good, and this time I hope we unleash him in the right areas.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images

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Will Jones Predicts...

Score Prediction: MK Dons 1 - 3 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Jordan Jones

I feel a few rotations in the squad on Tuesday showed the strength in depth we have. We once again beat a team who keep the ball and allowed us to counter - WITH PACE.

I don’t believe we will win without conceding this time around, they were good in front of goal but just lacked a little in the box which they will have with Jerome on Saturday.

This pitch is going to be hard on the legs of the lads and will be even worse than last week, so there will be many subs during the game, freshening it up and giving it a go to the last minute.

I feel it will take a touch of class to split the sides today, which we seem to have in abundance from the ability of our midfield and quality in front of goal. Based on this, we’ll bag a comfortable three points.

Photo by Trevor Wikinson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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Martin Wanless Predicts...

Score Prediction: MK Dons 0 - 2 Sunderland

Sunderland’s first goalscorer: Charlie Wyke

Tuesday’s victory should give us a bit of confidence going into a repeat fixture a few days later, however, with much-changed personnel likely on both sides, the pizza cup game shouldn’t be relied upon too much to gauge what’s in store.

Still, there were some impressive performances on Tuesday, and it’ll be interesting to see who Johnson goes with. I suspect it’ll be a team more in line with what he picked against Gillingham, Vokins for McFadzean possibly the only change, although I’d not be surprised to see Gooch named ahead of O’Brien.

Of course, that means Charlie Wyke will return to the starting line up, and I’m banking on Chaz to get the first in a 2-0 win.

Photo by Ian Horrocks/Sunderland AFC via Getty Images