Neal Ardley will choose a strong squad for Wimbledon's first Checkatrade Trophy match this season and he is eager for his players to rediscover the winning habit.
Following the defeat at Burton Albion, Wimbledon tonight face a Charlton Athletic side with three points more in the League One table after their 2-1 win at Southend United on Saturday.
Lyle Taylor, one of our Wembley heroes from 2016, struck the winner in that match, but it's unclear if he will be involved with Charlton manager Lee Bowyer set to shuffle his pack.
The match at the Valley is the first group match for Wimbledon in the Checkatrade Trophy with the Dons also having home matches against Swansea Under-21s (18 September) and Stevenage (6 November).
Asked about his approach to the match tonight, our manager said: "We have a 21-man squad and that's the squad for all competitions. We will be using this squad for Tuesday and for Saturday. It will be as strong as it needs to be (for the Charlton game). At the moment we have to learn how to win games of football. It is a young side, we've reduced the average age of the squad, but we have a team that wants to play with energy, tempo, and belief. We didn't do that in the first-half on Saturday. I had been disappointed with the results, but it was the first time I had been disappointed with the group. The key thing through all of this is that we move on and get the momentum going again."
A summary of player eligibility for EFL clubs in the Checkatrade Trophy is below:
• A club can play any goalkeeper in the competition;
• The revised requirement of Rule 7.3 – '4 qualifying outfield Players from 10'.
A qualifying outfield player would be:
Any player that meets the current criteria (excluding goalkeepers), includes those who:
• Have started the previous or following first team fixture.
• Are in the top 10 players at the club for starting appearances in league and domestic cup competitions for the current season.
• Have made 40 or more first team appearances in their career.
• Are on loan from either a Premier League or Category 1 academy club.
For the full list of rules and regulations about the competition, visit the EFL website .
Tickets
Wimbledon supporters can pay on the night to attend this game (cash only at the South Stand Ticket Office). You can also collect pre-booked tickets from the same place.
Ticket prices are as follows:
- Adults - £10
- Senior (65-plus years) - £5
- Under-21s - £5
Match Coverage
You can listen to full match commentary of the game with our WDON commentators Mikey T and Rob Cornell providing coverage from The Valley. Access our iFollow channel to follow the game.