Stockport County sit second in League One and welcome AFC Wimbledon to Edgeley Park on 31 October 2026, which is essentially a test of whether a promotion chasing side can grind down a team that can't score.
Jimmy McNulty, who replaced Dave Challinor on 5 June 2026, goes into this without any prior meetings against Johnnie Jackson, who has managed Wimbledon since 16 May 2022 and has seen his side lose both previous encounters with Stockport.
Stockport arrive with a five game run of L-D-W-W-W, recovering from a narrow 0-1 defeat at Oxford United on 27 October 2026 with a 1-1 draw against Notts County on 24 October and a 2-0 win over Doncaster on 20 October. The way they bounced back from that Oxford loss suggests a squad comfortable absorbing the odd setback and the clean sheet at Doncaster adds some defensive credibility to their promotion case.
Wimbledon's last five reads D-L-L-L-D, with a 1-1 draw at Wycombe on 24 October giving way to a 0-3 loss at Mansfield on 20 October and a 0-5 thumping at Sheffield Wednesday on 17 October.
Stockport are without Brad Hills (ACL) and Kyron Gordon (hamstring), removing some defensive depth and potentially requiring reshuffling at the back or in midfield, though neither absence looks likely to derail their promotion push with the squad's core shape intact. Wimbledon are without Marcus Browne, Donnell McNeilly and Matty Stevens, rough timing for the division's lowest scorers and Jackson will have to find a functioning attacking combination from what remains of a thin squad given that trio were responsible for most of Wimbledon's attacking variety in the final third.
Stockport at home are a compact side, dangerous at set pieces, that holds shape when out of possession and looks to move the ball quickly to the flanks once they win it back. Wootton, nine goals in, pulls defenders with his aerial work and frees runners beyond him.
Wimbledon's away defensive numbers tell their own story: Jayden Stockley carries five goals for them, yet with Browne and McNeilly missing, the variety of service he receives will be limited and Stockport's centre backs should have little to worry about if the supply stays as thin as it has been. The visitors' best hope is staying compact long enough to force errors then winning the ball high and transitioning quickly.
The central battle is really about whether Wimbledon can keep their two banks of four intact as Stockport's full backs push forward. If the home side's full backs get on the ball in space, Wimbledon's midfield will be chasing runners rather than protecting the back four and at that point their away record suggests they tend to concede in clusters.
Stockport have won four of the last five meetings between these sides, including a 3-0 home win on 28 March 2026 and a 0-2 away victory on 15 April 2026. Their delivery from wide areas combined with Wootton's aerial threat makes set pieces a consistent source of danger, which matters more here given the disruption to Wimbledon's defensive options. Rotating defenders during dead ball situations is difficult enough at full strength, doing it with three players unavailable is harder still.
Stockport need maximum points from home games to stay in the promotion picture, while Wimbledon are mainly trying to avoid the kind of heavy defeat that would further damage a goal difference already dragged down by the Sheffield Wednesday result. One team takes risks to win, the other plays cautiously to limit damage and in those fixtures the braver side usually sets the tempo.
Stockport 2-0 AFC Wimbledon. Wootton will stretch Wimbledon's depleted defence and a clean sheet looks realistic given how rarely they score away from home. The second goal probably arrives from a set piece or on the break and if Wimbledon couldn't keep it tight against Mansfield and Sheffield Wednesday, it is hard to see them doing it here.
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?.
