Bristol Rovers take on MK Dons at their Stadium:mk for the first time today.

But can Rovers break the hoodoo of never having beaten this club – formerly known as Wimbledon – away from home?

Since joining the Football League in 1977, Wimbledon have come a long way in terms of their approach to the game and the stadiums they have called home.

Having already played out a 2-2 draw in the first ever League meeting between these clubs on September 29, 1981, the return fixture on February 20 came at a time when Rovers, under new manager Bobby Gould, were gathering some pace.

A crowd of just 2,408 saw the match settled by Dons' defender Mick Smith netting his first goal of the season.

This home win failed to save Wimbledon from the drop as they returned to Division Four along with Bristol City. Their stay in the basement division was swift and, under Dave Bassett, Wimbledon made a flying start to the 1983/84 campaign and faced Rovers early in the season.

A 1-1 draw on October 8 gave Rovers their first and only point at Plough Lane and Mike Barrett's strike was their only League goal there.

The club's meteoric rise to fame culminated in winning the FA Cup in 1988 as the Crazy Gang beat the Culture Club that was Liverpool.

Just before the inaugural Premier League season of 1992, Wimbledon's Old Plough Lane, their home since 1912, was clearly in no state to become an all-seater stadium under the Taylor Report and the club moved in with neighbours Crystal Palace. It started as a temporary measure but lasted nearly 15 years.

Plough Lane was finally demolished in 2003, the same year the club finally bade farewell to London and moved to a temporary home at the National Hockey Stadium at Milton Keynes.

Even then around £2.5 million had to be spent on temporary stands that took the capacity to 9,000.

A name-change to MK Dons, in keeping with their new location, came during the summer of 2004 but made little impact on the club as they slid down the divisions, ending up in League Two, along with Rovers, for the 2006-07 season .

That same season witnessed the Dons' last League campaign at the National Hockey Stadium before their move to the new £42 million stadium:mk in 2007.

A crowd of 5,125 gathered on August 19, 2006 for Rovers' first and only League match at the hockey ground and Rovers had very little to cheer as goals from Lloyd Dyer and Clive Platt continued a fine start to the season for Martin Allen's team with three wins from four matches.

The Pirates recorded only one victory in their opening four matches – but had the last laugh as promotion to League One was secured by beating Shrewsbury in the play-off final, who themselves were appearing at Wembley courtesy of beating MK Dons in the semi-final.