MK Dons announce Croatian friendly and matches behind closed doors against Premier League sides in full pre-season programme

MK Dons have announced details of their pre-season friendly programme, which includes an away match in Croatia and two closed door games against Premier League sides.

The friendly programme also does not feature any home games, meaning MK Dons will not play a home friendly at Stadium MK for the first time since the 2022 summer.

Ahead of the Dons’ return to League One following promotion last season, MK Dons have confirmed they will be playing 7 friendlies in July and August.

The Dons’ programme starts on July 10th when they visit National League South outfit Maidenhead United.

Following their visit to Berkshire, Paul Warne’s side will head to Croatia for a training camp in the city of Pula, culminating in a friendly on July 17th against Croatian top-flight outfit NK Istra.

A friendly behind closed doors then takes place on July 22nd against Premier League side Spurs, before the Dons will have two simultaneous friendlies on July 25th.

One half of the Dons’ squad will take on National League side Wealdstone in a game open to the public, while the other half of MK’s team will be playing an as-yet unnamed Premier League side at an undisclosed venue.

After that pair, two more friendlies round out the Dons’ pre-season preparations, with both being away matches against League Two opposition. The first is on July 28th, when the Dons visit Barnet, before MK Dons conclude their pre-season schedule on August 1st when they play Cheltenham Town.

The opening weekend of the EFL season will be in the form of the First Round of the Carabao Cup, which takes place over the weekend surrounding Saturday August 8th. The full League One season commences on the following weekend, around Saturday August 15th.

Next season’s EFL fixtures will be unveiled on June 25th at 12pm, with the Carabao Cup First Round draw and the EFL Trophy group stage draw also taking place on this date.

As well as the first team, MK Dons also confirmed that their academy side will have a match against Buckingham on July 11th, against Norwich on July 18th and against Doncaster on July 25th, with further fixtures to be announced in due course.