2025–26 Milton Keynes Dons F.C. season

Milton Keynes Dons
2025–26 season
ChairmanFahad Al-Ghanim
Head CoachPaul Warne[1]
StadiumStadium MK
League Two3rd
FA CupFirst round
EFL CupFirst round
EFL TrophyGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague:
Alex Gilbey
Callum Paterson (2 each)
All:
Alex Gilbey
Callum Paterson (2 each)
Highest home attendance9,384 vs Oldham Athletic
(2 August 2025, League Two)
Lowest home attendance6,772 vs Cheltenham Town
(16 August 2025, League Two)
Average home league attendance8,078
Biggest win5–0 vs Cheltenham Town (H)
(16 August 2025, League Two)
Biggest defeat2–0 vs Bristol City (A)
(12 August 2025, EFL Cup R1)
All statistics correct as of match played 16 August 2025.

The 2025–26 season is the 22nd season in the history of Milton Keynes Dons Football Club and their third consecutive season in League Two. In addition to the domestic league, the club will also participate in the FA Cup, the EFL Cup and the EFL Trophy.

This will be the first season since the club's founding not to feature Dean Lewington, who retired after 21 years at the club, serving between 2004 and 2025.[2]

Transfers and contracts

In

Date Pos. Player From Fee Ref.
11 June 2025 CF  Rushian Hepburn-Murphy (ENG)  Crawley Town (ENG) Undisclosed [3]
19 June 2025 CF  Aaron Collins (WAL)  Bolton Wanderers (ENG) £800,000[4] [5]
30 June 2025 CM  Will Collar (ENG)  Stockport County (ENG) Free transfer [6]
1 June 2025[a] RW  Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (GUA)  Derby County (ENG) [7]
1 July 2025[b] RB  Gethin Jones (AUS)  Bolton Wanderers (ENG) [8]
18 July 2025 GK  Tom Finch (ENG)  Norwich City (ENG) [9]
28 July 2025 CF  Callum Paterson (SCO)  Sheffield Wednesday (ENG) [10]
8 August 2025 CB  Marvin Ekpiteta (ENG)  Hibernian (SCO) Undisclosed [11]
  1. ^ The transfer was announced on 27 May, and would become official on June 1 once the transfer window had reopened
  2. ^ The transfer was announced on 12 June, and would become official on July 1 once his contract at Bolton had ended

Out

Date Pos. Player To Fee Ref.
27 June 2025 DM  Jay Williams (SKN)  Crawley Town (ENG) Undisclosed [12]
18 August 2025 CF  Callum Hendry (SCO)  Motherwell (SCO) [13]

Loaned in

Date Pos. Player From Date until Ref.

Loaned out

Date Pos. Player To Date until Ref.
11 July 2025 GK  Sebastian Stacey (ENG)  Worthing (ENG) 31 May 2026 [14]
9 August 2025 LB  Marcel Guzynski (ENG)  Banbury United (ENG) 6 September 2025 [15]

Released / Out of Contract

Date Pos. Player Subsequent club Join date Ref.
30 June 2025 CB  Jack Tucker (ENG)  Colchester United (ENG) 1 July 2025 [16][17]
CF  Ellis Harrison (WAL)  Bristol Rovers (ENG) 29 July 2025 [16][18]
GK  Nathan Harness (ENG)  Maidstone United (ENG) 30 July 2025 [16][19]
CM  Joel Anker (ENG)  Banbury United (ENG) 8 August 2025 [16][20]
CB  Charlie Stirland (ENG)  Newton Aycliffe (ENG) 11 August 2025 [16][21]
GK  Ronnie Sandford (ENG) [16]
CB  Albert Wood (ENG) [16]
LB  Dean Lewington (ENG)
Retired
 [2]

New contracts

Date Pos. Player Contracted until Ref.
20 June 2025 RW  Jonathan Leko (ENG) Undisclosed [22]
24 June 2025 GK  Connal Trueman (ENG) [23]

Pre-season and friendlies

The club's full pre-season schedule was announced on 4 June 2025.[24] The club played just a single home match during pre-season as the Stadium MK pitch underwent a significant overhaul during the summer.[25]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

5 July 2025 Friendly Milton Keynes Dons 1–2 St Mirren San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain
11:00 CEST
  • Ayunga (o.g.)
 Report
Stadium: Pinatar Arena
12 July 2025 Friendly Hitchin Town 0–6 Milton Keynes Dons Hitchin
15:00 BST Report
Stadium: Top Field
Attendance: 730
Referee: Richard Wharton
15 July 2025 Friendly Brackley Town 0–2 Milton Keynes Dons Brackley
19:45 BST Report
Stadium: St. James Park
Attendance: 1,066
19 July 2025 Friendly Wealdstone 2–0 Milton Keynes Dons London (Ruislip)
15:00 BST
Report Stadium: Grosvenor Vale
19 July 2025 Friendly Milton Keynes Dons 1–3 Doncaster Rovers Dunstable
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Creasey Park
22 July 2025 Friendly Milton Keynes Dons Cancelled Bristol City Denbigh
19:30 BST Stadium: Stadium MK
Note: On 1 July 2025, the fixture was cancelled due to the two clubs drawing one another in the League Cup first round. A replacement friendly against Peterborough United was also announced.[26]
22 July 2025 Friendly Milton Keynes Dons 1–2 Peterborough United Denbigh
19:30 BST
Report
Stadium: Stadium MK
Attendance: 2,171 (339 away)
Referee: Neil Hair
26 July 2025 Friendly Stevenage 2–1 Milton Keynes Dons Stevenage
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Lamex Stadium
Attendance: 1,302 (296 away)
Referee: Callum Gough

Competitions

Overall record

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
League Two 2 August 2025 2 May 2026 Matchday 1 3 2 1 0 7 0 +7 066.67
FA Cup November 2025 TBC First round 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
EFL Cup 12 August 2025 First round First round 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 000.00
EFL Trophy 16 September 2025 TBC Group stage 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 !—
Total 4 2 1 1 7 2 +5 050.00

Last updated: 16 August 2025
Source: Soccerway

EFL League Two

Main article: 2025–26 EFL League Two

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Crewe Alexandra 3 3 0 0 6 1 +5 9 Promotion to League One
2 Chesterfield 3 3 0 0 6 1 +5 9
3 Milton Keynes Dons 3 2 1 0 7 0 +7 7
4 Grimsby Town 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 7 Qualification for League Two play-offs
5 Fleetwood Town 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 7
Updated to match(es) played on 16 August 2025. Source: EFL Official Website
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Head-to-head results; 5) Wins; 6) Away goals; 7) Penalty points (sec 9.5); 8) 12-point sending off offences[27]

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
3 2 1 0 7 0  +7 7 1 1 0 5 0  +5 1 0 0 2 0  +2

Last updated: 16 August 2025.
Source: Soccerway

Results by round

Round12345678910
GroundHAHAAHHAHA
ResultDWW
Position1563
Points147
Updated to match(es) played on 16 August 2025. Source: Soccerway
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; P = Postponed

Matches

The League Two fixtures were announced on 26 June 2025.[28] The club began the season at home to newly promoted Oldham Athletic on 2 August with the final game of the regular season being away at Fleetwood Town on 2 May.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

2 August 2025 1 Milton Keynes Dons 0–0 Oldham Athletic Denbigh
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Stadium MK
Attendance: 9,384 (1,891 away)
Referee: Matthew Russell
9 August 2025 2 Barrow 0–2 Milton Keynes Dons Barrow-in-Furness
15:00 BST
Report
Stadium: Holker Street
Attendance: 3,218 (256 away)
Referee: Michael Barlow
16 August 2025 3 Milton Keynes Dons 5–0 Cheltenham Town Denbigh
15:00 BST
Report
  • Mažionis Yellow card 5'
  • Jude-Boyd Yellow card 42'
  • Bickerstaff Yellow card 71'
  • Archer Yellow card 83'
 Stadium: Stadium MK
Attendance: 6,772 (365 away)
Referee: Jacob Miles
19 August 2025 4 Crawley Town v Milton Keynes Dons Crawley
19:45 BST Stadium: Broadfield Stadium
23 August 2025 5 Newport County v Milton Keynes Dons Newport
12:30 BST Stadium: Rodney Parade
Note: Fixture was originally scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was moved for live Sky Sports broadcasting.[29]
30 August 2025 6 Milton Keynes Dons v Walsall Denbigh
15:00 BST Stadium: Stadium MK
6 September 2025 7 Milton Keynes Dons v Grimsby Town Denbigh
15:00 BST Stadium: Stadium MK
13 September 2025 8 Chesterfield v Milton Keynes Dons Chesterfield
15:00 BST Stadium: SMH Group Stadium
20 September 2025 9 Milton Keynes Dons v Accrington Stanley Denbigh
15:00 BST Stadium: Stadium MK
27 September 2025 10 Shrewsbury Town v Milton Keynes Dons Shrewsbury
15:00 BST Stadium: New Meadow
4 October 2025 11 Milton Keynes Dons v Gillingham Denbigh
12:30 BST Stadium: Stadium MK
Note: Fixture was originally scheduled for a 15:00 kick-off, but was rescheduled for live Sky Sports broadcasting.[30]

FA Cup

Main article: 2025–26 FA Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

EFL Cup

Main article: 2025–26 EFL Cup

The draw for the first round was made on 26 June 2025, with MK Dons being drawn away to EFL Championship side Bristol City.[31][32]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

12 August 2025 First round Bristol City 2–0 Milton Keynes Dons Bristol
19:45 BST
Report
Stadium: Ashton Gate
Attendance: 10,280 (371 away)
Referee: Bobby Madley

EFL Trophy

Main article: 2025–26 EFL Trophy

In the group stage, MK Dons were drawn into Southern Group D alongside Reading, Swindon Town and West Ham United U21.[33]

Pos Div Team Pld W PW PL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 L2 Milton Keynes Dons 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to Round 2
2 L1 Reading 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 L2 Swindon Town 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 ACA West Ham United U21 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: EFL

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

16 September 2025 Group stage Milton Keynes Dons v West Ham United U21 Denbigh
19:00 BST Stadium: Stadium MK
7 October 2025 Group stage Reading v Milton Keynes Dons Reading
19:00 BST Stadium: Select Car Leasing Stadium
11 November 2025 Group stage Milton Keynes Dons v Swindon Town Denbigh
19:00 GMT Stadium: Stadium MK

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of match played 16 August 2025

Players with no appearances are not included in the list
Italics indicate a loaned in player

No. Pos Nat Player Total League Two FA Cup EFL Cup EFL Trophy
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Scotland SCO Craig MacGillivray 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 DF Australia AUS Gethin Jones 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 DF England ENG Nathan Thompson 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
6 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Liam Kelly 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
8 MF England ENG Alex Gilbey (captain) 4 2 3 2 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
9 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Scott Hogan 2 0 0+1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
10 FW Wales WAL Aaron Collins 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 FW Guatemala GUA Nathaniel Mendez-Laing 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 FW Scotland SCO Callum Paterson 4 2 2+1 2 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
14 DF England ENG Joe Tomlinson 4 0 3 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
15 DF England ENG Luke Offord 4 0 3 0 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
16 MF England ENG Aaron Nemane 3 1 0+2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
17 FW England ENG Jonathan Leko 3 0 0+2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
18 MF England ENG Will Collar 4 0 1+2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
20 MF England ENG Kane Thompson-Sommers 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 DF England ENG Marvin Ekpiteta 3 0 0+2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
24 MF Wales WAL Connor Lemonheigh-Evans 3 0 0+2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
27 GK England ENG Connal Trueman 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
29 FW England ENG Rushian Hepburn-Murphy 4 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
32 DF England ENG Jack Sanders 4 1 3 1 0 0 0+1 0 0 0
35 DF England ENG Charlie Waller 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Disciplinary record

As of match played 16 August 2025

List is sorted by squad number when total number of cards are equal
Players with no cards are not included in the list

No. Pos. Nat. Player League Two FA Cup EFL Cup EFL Trophy Total
Yellow card Second yellow card Red card Yellow card Second yellow card Red card Yellow card Second yellow card Red card Yellow card Second yellow card Red card Yellow card Second yellow card Red card
2 DF Australia Gethin Jones 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
4 DF England Nathan Thompson 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
9 FW Republic of Ireland Scott Hogan 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
11 FW Guatemala Nathaniel Mendez-Laing 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
18 MF England Will Collar 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
32 DF England Jack Sanders 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Totals 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0

References

  1. ^ "Paul Warne joins MK Dons as Head Coach". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 15 April 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Dean Lewington to end record-breaking MK Dons playing career". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  3. ^ "DonDeal: Rushian Hepburn-Murphy". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 11 June 2025. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Bolton Wanderers sell Aaron Collins to MK for record fee". The Bolton News. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  5. ^ "DonDeal: MK Dons reach agreement to sign Aaron Collins". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 19 June 2025. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
  6. ^ "DonDeal: Will Collar is a Don". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 30 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  7. ^ "DonDeal: Nathaniel Mendez-Laing signs for MK Dons". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 27 May 2025. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  8. ^ "DonDeal: Gethin Jones". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 12 June 2025. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  9. ^ "DonDeal: Tom Finch signs for MK Dons". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
  10. ^ "DonDeal: Callum Paterson moves to Milton Keynes". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 28 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  11. ^ "Marvin Ekpiteta is a Don". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Jay Williams signs for Crawley Town". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  13. ^ "Callum Hendry signs for Motherwell". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 18 August 2025. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Seb Stacey seals loan move to Worthing". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Marcel Guzynski loaned to Banbury United". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 9 August 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g "MK Dons reveal 24/25 retained and released list". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 16 May 2025. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
  17. ^ "U's sign Tucker". Colchester United FC. 1 July 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Ellis Harrison returns to Bristol Rovers". Bristol Rovers. 29 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  19. ^ "He's a keeper". Maidstone United. 30 July 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  20. ^ "Joel Anker joins Banbury United". Banbury United. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  21. ^ "New Signing - Charlie Stirland". Newton Aycliffe. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  22. ^ "Leko continues Dons journey". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  23. ^ "DonDeal: Trueman stays at Stadium MK". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 24 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  24. ^ "MK Dons announce pre-season schedule". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 4 June 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025.
  25. ^ "Pitch reconstruction starts at Stadium MK". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
  26. ^ "Pre-Season Fixture Update: Tuesday 22nd July". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 1 July 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  27. ^ "EFL Regulations Section 3 – The League; subsection 9 – Method of Determining League Positions". EFL. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Fixture Release Day: MK Dons learn 25/26 fixtures". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  29. ^ "Newport County v MK Dons live on Sky Sports+ in August". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 4 July 2025.
  30. ^ "Three MK Dons League Fixtures Selected for Sky Broadcasting". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 29 July 2025. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  31. ^ "MK Dons travel to Bristol City in Carabao Cup Round One". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  32. ^ "Bristol City Carabao Cup Fixture Details". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 4 July 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  33. ^ "EFL Vertu Trophy 25/26 Group Confirmed". Milton Keynes Dons FC. 26 June 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
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