All the stats below refer to games between Dale, Wimbledon FC and AFC Wimbledon.
* Saturday will be the 20th league game between Dale and AFC Wimbledon and the 10th at Spotland
* Dale have won two of the previous nine home fixtures, losing four times and drawing three
* Our last home win over AFC Wimbledon (playing as Wimbledon FC) came in October 1980 when Nigel O’Loughlin and Barry Wellings scored first half goals to clinch Dale’s 2-0 victory
* We have since played The Dons on seven occasions at Spotland in league and cup football without success, losing four and drawing 1-1 three times
* One of those 1-1 draws was in the second round of the Littlewoods (League) Cup in September 1987. Both teams scored penalties — John Fashanu for Wimbledon and Lyndon Simmonds for Dale.
* Dale’s best win versus any Wimbledon side is 3-0, which they achieved at Spotland in December 1977 and at Kingsmeadow in February 2014
* That December 1977 match was played on Boxing Day, a long-distance Christmas encounter brought about by Wimbledon taking over Workington’s fixtures after the latter were elected out of the league
* The 3-0 win at Kingsmeadow in February 2014, in which Scott Hogan scored all three goals for Dale, was our last victory over The Dons. The seven games since have featured four draws and three defeats.
* Last season’s scheduled home fixture versus AFC Wimbledon was one of the early victims of the shutdown of football due to the coronavirus pandemic
* Dale’s leading appearance-maker against AFC Wimbledon is Ian Henderson, with nine games
* In the current squad, Matt Done (6) has made most appearances for Dale against The Dons
* Dale’s top scorers against AFC Wimbledon, with three goals apiece, are Ian Henderson and Scott Hogan
LAST VISIT
AFC Wimbledon were 4-3 winners when they visited Spotland for a midweek fixture in February 2019. Joe Pigott scored a hat-trick for The Dons, including a 95th minute penalty, while Dale’s goals came from Ethan Ebanks-Landell, Ethan Hamilton and Ian Henderson.
See the action here: