Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth believes this weekend’s opponents are the ‘true Wimbledon’, as they prepare for their visit to Adams Park.

The Wanderers boss spent five seasons with the previous Dons between 1998 and 2003, where he played 45 times and scored seven goals – two of those strikes coming in a Premier League match away at Newcastle United.

He left the club in 2002/03, their penultimate season before they were renamed to MK Dons, and although the South London club have since reformed as a new outfit and regained their place in the Football League, Ainsworth still believes that the ‘true Wimbledon’ will be in South Bucks this weekend.

He said: "I played for Wimbledon, and in my mind, that's the team that's coming here on Saturday.

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“They're the true Wimbledon, with the history.

“And it's always a tough game against them.

"They're a strong side with good energy, some really talented young players and the two big men up front in (Aaron) Pressley and (Ollie) Palmer, so they've got a bit of everything.

“Robbo (Mark Robinson) is a relatively new manager for them but he's done fantastically well in a short time and I've got a lot of respect for them as a club.

“It's been a difficult game every time we've faced them."

Despite their recent formation in 2002, the two sides have face each other 13 times, with the Londoners having the upper hand.

They have won seven out of those 13 fixtures, with there being four draws and two wins for Wanderers.

In fact, despite Wycombe being joint top of the League One table, and with the Blue and Yellows being six points off the relegation places, Wimbledon are unbeaten in their seven matches against Gareth Ainsworth’s men.

The last time Wanderers defeated Wimbledon was in October 2014, when they won 2-0 at Adams Park with Josh Scowen and Sam Wood getting the goals.

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Ainsworth continued: "You look around the league and you've got Wigan, Rotherham, Sunderland all getting good results every week, and Portsmouth, Oxford and MK Dons coming on strong, so we're in good company and looking forward to seeing what we can do over Christmas.

"Historically we've maybe struggled over Christmas but this season feels different, with the players we've got and the run that we're on.

"The little break last week helped us, the Christmas schedule isn't as hectic as usual, and we just need to stay focused, driven, and fit.

"I know if I've got my best 17-18 players available, we're a match for absolutely anyone."

Prior to their reformation 20 seasons ago, Wycombe and Wimbledon played each other three times.

The first two fixtures were in the FA Cup run of 2001.

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The two sides met in the quarter-finals with the original tie finishing 2-2 before the bout went to a replay.

That game too finished 2-2, but Wanderers progressed into the semi-finals following an 8-7 win on penalties.

They then met at the start of the 2003/04 season, when a depleted Wimbledon side lost 2-0 to Wycombe at Adams Park.

Richard Harris got both goals that day.