AFC Wimbledon host Wycombe Wanderers at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on 24 October 2026, a League One Gameweek 13 fixture that brings together two mid table sides going in opposite directions despite sitting a place apart in the table. Wimbledon are 16th with 12 points from 11 games and a goal difference of minus 11, winless in their last five league matches and joint lowest scorers in the division with only seven goals, while Wycombe sit 15th with 14 points from the same 11 games and a goal difference of minus four, arriving with 10 points from their last five under Tom Hounsell. Both teams need something from this: Wimbledon to end a run of three straight defeats and avoid dropping into the relegation zone, Wycombe to prove the upturn is real.
Johnnie Jackson has faced Wycombe five times during his tenure, winning two and losing three for a points per match average of 1.20, whereas Hounsell's record against Wimbledon is effectively a blank, having only taken permanent charge on 10 October 2026 after replacing Michael Duff. Wimbledon's recent form is straightforward to read: a 0-3 home defeat to Mansfield on 20 October extended what is now three straight league defeats, bookended by two earlier draws. Wycombe drew 2-2 away at Cambridge the same day and arrive with a D W L W D sequence in their last five league outings, six points and two wins in that stretch.
Jackson has been in charge since 16 May 2022 with Michael Morrison alongside him as first team coach. Wimbledon are without Dujuan Richards and Matty Stevens, while James Tilley is a doubt with a hamstring issue and is being managed back gradually and Wycombe are missing Matt Macey to a long term cruciate ligament injury, leaving them relying on their deputy goalkeeper. The absences hit Wimbledon harder in attack and Wycombe between the posts.
Wimbledon play a compact 5-4-1 that prioritises defensive shape over everything else, which goes a long way to explaining the league low scoring record. With Richards and Stevens both out, Stockley is now the only striker available and set pieces are the clearest route to him, with Josef Bursik holding things together in goal and Myles Hippolyte operating in midfield. Wycombe, meanwhile, have shifted to a 4-2-3-1 under Hounsell and have scored in every league game this season, with Jayden Wareham leading the line as top scorer and Josh Scowen doing the disciplined defensive midfield work that lets everything else function. Losing Macey to injury was a blow but the goals have kept coming.
Tilley's fitness is the variable that shapes how this plays out, because without him Wimbledon lose their only realistic option for carrying the ball from midfield, leaving Stockley even more isolated on long balls. Wycombe have conceded the second most goals in the division and have already shown they can be punished from set pieces, so that is exactly where this game could turn. Wycombe won 2-0 in their last visit to Plough Lane, though Wimbledon reversed that with a 2-1 win in the return fixture and have not lost at home to Wycombe in recent meetings.
Set pieces are Wimbledon's most realistic path to a goal given how little they create from open play and Stockley is an obvious aerial target on corners and free kicks. Wycombe will need to be better organised at dead balls than they have been at points this season and that is the specific risk they face here: a game they largely control, only for Stockley to nod one in from a corner and force them to chase the result.
Wycombe 2-1 Wimbledon. Wycombe have scored in every league game this season and Wareham gives them a focal point that Wimbledon's back five will struggle to account for alongside set piece threats at the other end. Jackson's team will be hard to break down but hard to break down is not the same as hard to beat when you are not scoring. Nothing in Wimbledon's last five games suggests they can find a goal from open play and Wycombe's structure under Hounsell has been coherent enough to keep a clean sheet if they get ahead.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
