Leicester City turned heads with an encouraging preseason campaign that included (un)competitive showings against Malaga, Cadiz and Serie A side Genoa, offering the false promise of a smooth transition into life in League One. Those high hopes have quickly faded, however, as the Foxes made a stuttering start to the new EFL campaign: winless in their opening two outings and already sitting 18th in the third tier.
Russell Martin finds himself under presumably unexpected pressure so early in his tenure; supporters and pundits alike are now questioning why a club of Leicester's stature has collected just one point from matches against the likes of Notts County and Burton Albion respectfully. The ex-Scotland international knows results must improve rapidly to silence the growing unrest, especially given promotion expectations that oddly accompany his appointment in Leicestershire.
A testing run of fixtures awaits City over the coming weeks, beginning with Saturday's trip to Stadium MK and followed immediately by home clashes with Plymouth Argyle and Oxford United, before tougher away tests at Stockport County and Barnsley. It is a sequence that will definitely define LCFC's early-season momentum.
Visitors MK Dons represent a fascinating early measuring stick. History offers the East Midlands team clear advantage across the sides' last five meetings: Leicester, three wins; two draws; MK Dons, zero victories.
Martin returns to the club where he forged his managerial reputation. However, Paul Warne's Dons will be no pushover on their own turf in this 12:30pm kick-off.
Leicester City injury news
Fresh concerns have emerged, however, with news that star young defender Bade Aluko faces a fitness race after taking a knock during Tuesday's Carabao Cup defeat at Ipswich Town, where he also scored his first senior goal for the LE2 outfit. His fitness shall be assessed.
"Manager Russell Martin does not have too many injury concerns ahead of our visit to MK Dons on Saturday, with Olabade Aluko awaiting a fitness assessment."lcfc.com
There are positive signs elsewhere, though, as Conor Chaplin and Jayden Joseph are both back in contention after featuring at Portman Road. In the meantime, Woyo Coulibaly's only issue was cramp during his first appearance of the season.
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