Chris

Bristol City find themselves in second place within League One with a game in hand of Swindon Town. The Robins will be hoping that Coventry City will win, whilst pushing on with their own campaign. Their games have been coming thick and fast due to them being in several cups. The Robins have won four of their last six league games, whilst losing to both Crewe and Preston. Their recent games come in as a draw in the F.A Cup and a win in the JPT. Run down of their last six games. Saturday 13th December – Bristol City 1 Crawley Town 0 Saturday 20th December – Crewe Alexandra 1 Bristol City 0 Friday 26th December – Bristol City 2 Yeovil 1 Sunday 28th December – Gillingham 1 Bristol City 3 Saturday 3rd January – Doncaster Rovers 1 Bristol City 1 (F.A Cup) Tuesday 6th January – Gillingham 2 Bristol City 4 (JPT) The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers; Aaron Wilbraham 13, Kieran Agard 8, Matt Smith 7 and Adent Flint 5. Persistent Foulers; Derrick Williams 1 Red Card and 4 Yellow Cards, Wade Elliot 1 Red Card and 1 Yellow Cards, Antony Kay 6 Yellow Card, Aaron Wilbraham 4 Yellow Cards and Korey Smith 2 Yellow Cards. The Key Players. Kieran Agard is a lively threat, the former Rotherham United player scored 32 goals in 91 appearances for the millers and he joined Bristol City for an undisclosed fee. He has the ability to pull in behind players and strike lethal finishes to seal games. Emmanuel Jay-Thomas, JET as the fans call him is the player Bristol City often look to change games. He's a quality player on his day and he can mix passes, create play and generally lead the line weather this is from Midfield or as a Striker. Aaron Wilbraham is another striker who can be menacing when presented chances. Korey Smith, Wade Elliot and Joe Bryan are Swindon Town's key players within midfield. Wade Elliot is the creator within their play, whilst Korey Smith and Joe Bryan bombard their opposition and are very skilful at breaking down their counterparts. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses. Bristol City play very fluidly, switching the ball around from out wide positions back into the centre of the park. Overlapping play allows them to keep the ball moving forward, which enables them to quickly find themselves in good positions within the field to take a chance or create the perfect opportunity for one of their talented centre forwards. Their main strengths are their talented players, however Steve Cotterill has them well organized within the 2014/2015 season which enables their key players to truly thrive on. Weaknesses are direct play, with balls which go through the middle. Bristol City's defence appears to allow opposition players too much time on the ball, so if players are able to get in-front of them the Robins typically fail to defend adequately. They're far from the perfect side, however their ability to create play and score will always counter their own mistakes. Match Thread - League One Preview - Youth Team Season Review

Bristol City, Swindon Town and even perhaps Preston North End fans will be hoping Notts can 'surprise' MK Dons today, as Notts prepare to host them at Meadow Lane. This is a very tough game for us Magpies, MK Dons are in fine form and may put on a performance to suppress that of what we seen by Swindon. Notts will have to be tactically prepared, whilst the defence and midfield will be key to over coming any danger. Key Fixtures Boxing Day | 26th December 2014. Chesterfield v Peterborough United Fleetwood Town v Bradford City Port Vale v Sheffield United Preston North End v Barnsley Scunthorpe United v Rochdale Prediction MK Don's might be seeing this as a 'easy' game, however installing organization and a plan to handle the Don's threats could allow for hard work could pay off. This said, I feel it will be a close game and if the lads do their jobs I see this resulting in a narrow loss, I predict 1-2 win to MK Dons. Match Odds Notts to win 3/1 – Draw 13/5 – MK Don's to win 17/20 Head to Head Notts County – A Notts win would most likely see a return to a play-off position, a draw would keep Notts just outside, anywhere from 8th to 10th is realistic. A defeat could see us drop as far as 11th provided the other clubs all win their games and of course if goal difference ended up favouring Chesterfield. MK Dons – A win for the visitors could see them move to the very top of the league. Despite having a game in hand, a draw could see them move from 2nd to 4th and that is also the worst case scenario if Notts were to beat them. Key Man Notts County; Alan Smith - His knowledge and understanding of the philosophy in which the Dons play will be of avast importance but a physical player who can be of a calm influence in midfield would actually benefit Notts. MK Dons; Danny Green – The wide man’s ability to take on opposition defenders allows him to pull the strings from midfield. He can be a constant threat from his passing, crossing, to his eye for the goal but it's his ability of turning something out of nothing into the perfect opportunity which makes him their key man for PoN. League Table As you can see Notts are still in a very healthy position, whilst the league table looks incredibly tight. If we can remain above Peterborough United that would please me, as a side of their stature should be up much higher. Whilst Bradford City, Oldham Athletic and Chesterfield are all decent counterparts in this division. I do expect to see Oldham and Chesterfield fade a little more, with Walsall and Barnsley coming into the mix. No matter what the outcome Notts will end 2014 in a very respectable position even if we drop around 9th to 11th within League One. We will remain with games in hand, with Sheffield United being postponed and also, within the new year Notts start a refresh test against Bristol City, Crewe Alexandra, Doncaster Rovers and Peterborough United. Match Thread - The Match Officials - Scouting Report - Stat Attack

MK Don's have been very impressive so far within the 2014/2015 campaign. The only recent blip comes by the hands of Chesterfield who knocked the Don's out of the F.A Cup at the Stadium MK, the final score 1-0. Big wins came at Oldham Athletic 7-0 and Colchester United 6-0. The Buckinghamshire side have won four of their last six games and have secured points in the other two remaining games. Preston and Rochdale being those sides. Run down of their last six games. Tuesday 25th November – MK Dons 2 AFC Rochdale 0 Saturday 29th November – MK Dons 6 Colchester 0 Tuesday 2nd December – Sheffield United 0 MK Dons 1 Saturday 6th December – MK Dons 0 Chesterfield 1 (F.A Cup) Saturday 13th December – Preston North End 1 MK Dons 1 Saturday 20th December – MK Dons 7 Oldham Athletic 0 The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers; Benik Afobe 19, Dele Alli 10, Will Grigg 9 and Carl Baker 4. Persistent Foulers; Kyle McFadzean 1 Red Card and 8 Yellow Cards, Danny Green 1 Red Card and 2 Yellow Cards, Antony Kay 6 Yellow Cards, Darren Potter 5 Yellow Cards and Samir Carruthers 5 Yellow Cards. The Key Players. The England U21 and Arsenal forward Benik Afobe has really found form within the 2014/2015 campaign. The popular youngster has been sent out on loan with several teams in his early career, however it's at MK Don's the strikers found a lethal eye for goal having scored 10 goals in the league, 6 in the League Cup, 2 in the F.A Cup and 1 in the JPT. He's a real threat with his natural finishing and his physical strength is enough to see off the majority of challenges. Will Grigg is a player who within League One has scored his share of goals, combining the tricky partnership with Benik Afobe the Northern Irish striker is a menace to any side within this division. Matt Green, Dele Alli and Carl Baker are a midfield to bolster any strong League One promotion chaser, with Matt Green having the ability to change the outcome of games with his creativity. Dele Alli offers true pace and an eye for goal. Carl Baker is also a player who can deceive opposition counter parters and naturally push them either with carefully created assists or a goal to boot. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses. MK Dons are a creative, physical and powerful League One outlet. They possess the ability to play smooth, quick flowing and dangerous attacking football. They're a well prepared side which can quickly suss out their opposition, allowing them to create many clean cut chances. Their strengths are found within the physical presence, whilst creativity and ideas are not something which MK Dons seem to be short of having. Like many good sides they use natural pace and skill to burst towards opposition, which allows their key players to get into space for the perfect pass or goal scoring opportunity. The Don's are very good at set pieces which you can tell the training ground is the source of the majority of their well driven efforts, their ability to mix play via the centre of the park and the flanks leave them with no limitations to their attacking power. Weaknesses are actually quite easy to spot within the MK Dons play, however the talent of their defenders and keeper are often enough to stop chances being a major concern. Bouncing and high balls often lead to chances against the Don's with their defenders struggling to get hold of the ball, they like it to be played along the ground. When hit with direction and pace, they often leave enough space for creative players to find time to take or set-up decent opportunities. If sides are able to retain possession the Don's struggle to keep calm which often results in disciplinary action as they make cynical and unnecessary challenges. Match Thread - The Match Officials - View New Content

Saturday 26th of December, MK Dons make their way to Meadow Lane on Boxing Day to take on the Magpies. Notts have a tough fixture here, MK Dons are a very capable League One team and Alan Smith may be a key feature for Notts County. MK Don's come into the game having moved into 2nd place within League One after destroying Oldham Athletic at home, an impressive 7-0 victory for the Dons. The Match Officials for Saturdays game against MK Dons will be Andrew Madley, with his two assistants Michael Hanley and James Wilson. The fourth official will be Jason Tyas. Match Officials Referee; Andrew Madley From – West Yorkshire His matches involving Notts County and MK Dons in the last four seasons. League One – Saturday 8th September 2012 – Notts County 3 Shrewsbury Town 2 – 2 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 12th October 2012 – MK Dons 0 Stevenage 1 – 3 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 8th December 2012 – Yeovil Town 0 Notts County 0 – 7 Yellow Cards League One – Friday 18th April – Port Vale 1 MK Dons 0 – 1 Yellow Card JPT – Tuesday 16th December – Notts County 0 Preston North End 1 – (Fourth Official) Run down of his last four games. Championship – Saturday 8th November 2014 – Nottingham Forest 2 Norwich City 1 – 5 Yellow Cards League Two – Saturday 29th November 2014 – Bury 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 2 – 4 Yellow Cards F.A Cup – Friday 5th December – Hartlepool 1 Blyth Spartans 1 – 1 Yellow Card Championship – Saturday 20th December – Blackpool 1 AFC Bournemouth 3 – 3 Yellow Cards In his last four games 13 yellow cards have been shown and currently no red cards. So far this season in a total of 18 games he has shown 52 yellow cards and 1 red card. That's roughly 2.8 yellow cards per game. Assistant Referee; Michael Hanley From – Liverpool Last 3 officiated games. Saturday 25th November – Port Vale 3 Leyton Orient 0 Saturday 8th November – Bury 3 Hemel Hempstead 0 Sunday 7th December – Bradford City 4 Dartford 1 Assistant Referee; James Wilson From – Cheshire Last 3 officiated games. Saturday 11th October 2014 – Port Vale 4 Yeovil 1 Saturday 25th October 2014 – Bolton 3 Brentford 1 Saturday 13th December 2014 – Scunthorpe United 2 Crewe Alexandra 1 Fourth Official; Jason Tyas From – West Yorkshire Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time.

Rochdale find themselves in similar form to us having won twice, lost three times and drawn once. The Dale's have also conceded the same amount of goals as they have scored in their last six games at 10 a piece. Their last league game saw an away win 4-1 over Colchester. Tuesday the 16th of December Rochdale beat Aldershot Town at the second time of asking, the final score after the original 0-0 ended up 4-1 in the Dale's favour. Run down of their last six games. Saturday 22nd November – Rochdale 1 Doncaster Rovers 3 Tuesday 25th November – MK Dons 2 Rochdale 2 Saturday 29th November – Rochdale 0 Oldham Athletic 3 Sunday 7th December – Aldershot Town 0 Rochdale 0 (F.A Cup) Saturday 13th December – Colchester 1 Rochdale 4 Tuesday 16th December – Rochdale 4 Aldershot Town 1 (F.A Cup) The Players – Fact Sheet Highest Goal Scorers; Matt Done 13, Ian Henderson 10, Peter Vincenti 9 and Jack O'Connell 3. Persistent Foulers; Ian Henderson 1 Red Card, Matt Done 1 Red Card, Matthew Lund 5 Yellow Cards, Joe Rafferty 5 Yellow Cards and Stephen Dawson 4 Yellow Cards. The Key Players. Naturally the danger will come from the following three players Matt Done, Ian Henderson and Peter Vincenti at least when on goal sight but also Ashley Eastham, Jack O'Connell and Rhys Bennett are paramount to the Dale's offense. Jonathan Obika is a player who creates a lot, whilst also proving he can finish chances himself. The former Tottenham Hotspur youngster forged a name within League One and he will be one to watch. Matt Done is their general in midfield, he can pull play towards him and dictate, whilst also showing an eye for goal. Ian Henderson is a player who drifts in and out of games but is a reliable player at this level. Peter Vincenti is another creative midfield who likes to create chances. Ashley Eastham, Jack O'Connell and Rhys Bennett are all players who on their day can cause problems from the back. Rhys Bennett being one which Notts will have to be aware of throughout the game, as he likes to get forward. Style of Play, Strengths, and Weaknesses. Rochdale are your typical newcomer to League One, they play as a team but rather take chances on getting the ball into the box where they have lively players who can seize on a moment. For them it is all about creating, there is no general focus to their play. They like to try to retain position, moving it around, whilst creating space and support. They are somewhat scrappy in their approach both going forward and in defending, organized sides can quickly find this to their advantage whereas some sides find this generally confusing. Their main strengths come from their lively players who can attach themselves to chances which looked destined for nothing. Whilst hard work and effort go along way, with their more gifted players finding much more time on the ball. Weaknesses is typically being disorganized, whilst there is a certain panic to the way the Dale's play when under pressure. If sides keep their key front men quiet, then it is all about hitting them and keeping balls consistently in their penalty box. Chances arise from this with Rochdale's defence being a key cause to their problems at the back. Josh Lillis is also a vulnerability if opposition sides can create panic within the Dale's defence. Match Thread - The Match Officials - Stat Attack

Saturday 20th of December, Notts County travel to the Spotland Stadium to face Rochdale AFC. Notts will have to put aside their recent defeats at the hands of Swindon Town in the league and Preston more recently in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. Rochdale come into the game having beaten Aldershot 4-1 in the F.A Cup on Tuesday night, in the Dale's last league game, they enjoyed 4-1 away win over Colchester United. The Match Officials for Saturdays game against Rochdale AFC will be Scott Mathieson, with his two assistants Nicholas Hopton and Gareth Mellor. The fourth official will be Neil Sharp. Match Officials Referee; Scott Mathieson From – Cheshire His matches involving Notts County and Rochdale AFC in the last four seasons. League Cup – Tuesday 9th August 2011 – Rochdale 3 Chesterfield 2 – 1 Yellow Card League One – Saturday 28th January 2012 – Rochdale 3 Bury 0 – 2 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 5th May 2012 – Notts County 4 Colchester 1 – No Cards League One – Saturday 26th October 2013 – Notts County 0 Preston 1 – 5 Yellow Cards JPT – Tuesday 8th October 2013 – Port Vale 0 Rochdale 1 – 5 Yellow Cards League One – Saturday 14th September 2013 – MK Dons 3 Notts County 1 – 4 Yellow Cards Run down of his last four games. F.A Cup – Saturday 8th November 2014 – Peterborough 2 Carlisle 1 – 1 Yellow Card League Two – Sunday 16th November 2014 – Newport 2 Exeter 2 – 1 Yellow Card League One – Saturday 29th November 2014 – MK Dons 6 Colchester 0 – 2 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card. F.A Cup – Saturday 6th December 2014 – Wrexham 3 Maidstone 1 – 2 Yellow Cards and 1 Red Card. In his last four games 6 yellow cards have been shown and 2 red cards. So far this season in a total of 13 games he has shown 25 yellow cards and 5 red cards. That's roughly 1.9 yellow cards per game. Assistant Referee; Nicholas Hopton From – Derbyshire Last 3 officiated games. Saturday 29th November 2014 – MK Dons 6 Colchester United 0 Saturday 13th December 2014 – Oxford United 2 Bury 1 Tuesday 16th December 2014 – Chester 0 Barnsley 3 Assistant Referee; Gareth Mellor From – West Yorkshire Last 3 officiated games. Saturday 15th November 2014 – Carlisle United 1 Accrington Stanley 0 Tuesday 18th November 2014 – Gainsborough Town 1 Boston United 1 Monday 1st December 2014 – Hyde 0 Worchester City 3 Fourth Official; Neil Sharp From – Cleveland Do you have an opinion on the game? - Match Thread Also, please do leave us a comment below if you have time.