As Bristol Rovers prepare to welcome Milton Keynes Dons to The Memorial Stadium in Sky Bet League Two, it is time to look at five players who have played for both clubs.
The Pirates' seven-match unbeaten streak in the fourth tier ended with a 2-1 loss to league leaders Walsall last weekend, but Darrell Clarke's men quickly got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory away to Cheltenham Town in the Vertu Trophy.
The Gas will now look to secure their fourth straight win on home soil after triumphs over Cambridge United, Barrow and Salford City. However, they are up against an MK Dons side one point above them and full of confidence after back-to-back wins in the league.
Before the fixture at The Mem, take a look at these five players who have played for the Gas and the Dons.
Josh McEachran
Alongside Ellis Harrison, McEachran is a current Rovers player who has had a spell at MK Dons. The experienced midfielder came through the ranks at Chelsea, debuting for the Blues in the Champions League against MŠK Žilina, making him the first player born after the competition’s creation to take part in it.
He made 22 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions. However, he could not hold a regular place in the team, going on loan to Swansea City, Middlesbrough, Watford, Wigan Athletic, and Vitesse before making a permanent switch to Brentford. McEachran spent four seasons at the Bees, playing 101 times in all competitions before moving to Birmingham.
He only played eight times in the Championship for Blues before switching to MK Dons, where he played exactly 100 times for the club in all competitions. The 32-year-old then moved to Oxford United, where he earned promotion to the Championship in the 2023/24 season. McEachran played 12 times in the second tier before transferring to the Gas in the summer, where he has played eight times in Sky Bet League Two, scoring once.
Chris Lines
It would be fair to say that Lines had a much bigger impact at Rovers than at MK Dons. Coming through the Academy at the Gas and made 168 league appearances in his first spell at the Club between 2004 and 2011. The midfielder became a regular in the Rovers side from the 2007/08 season onwards before going to Sheffield Wednesday, where he played 41 times in League One in the 2011/12 season and gained promotion to the Championship with a second-place finish.
However, after just six appearances at the start of the new campaign, he went on loan to MK Dons for the remainder of the 2012/13 season before making a permanent move to Port Vale.
He spent almost two full seasons at the League One outfit, but returned to Rovers on loan in March 2015. He made eight appearances in Conference Premier, netting a goal in the 3-0 aggregate playoff semi-final win over Forest Green and converted the first penalty in the shoot-out victory over Grimsby Town in the final. Darrell Clarke signed him permanently in the summer, with Lines making 36 League Two appearances in their second straight promotion campaign.
After three seasons in League One with Rovers, Lines left the Club in 2019, making 357 appearances in all competitions across his two spells before spending time at Northampton Town, Stevenage, Bath City, Yate Town (on loan) and now Corsham Town.
Lee Nicholls
Nicholls earned a League Two third-place promotion with both Rovers and MK Dons. The goalkeeper came through the ranks at Wigan Athletic but spent most of his time at the Club on loan. He had six temporary spells away, going to Hartlepool United, Shrewsbury Town, Sheffield Wednesday, Accrington Stanley, Northampton Town and finally, Rovers.
He played 15 times during a three-month loan spell in the 2015/16 season before returning to Wigan, but returned to the Latics towards the end of December, only playing twice and spending most of the time as an unused substitute.
At the end of the term, he left Wigan permanently for MK Dons. The shot-stopper had a place that he could call home and made 157 apperances in all competitions, including 40 in League Two during the Dons' promotion campaign out of League Two. Nicholls left for Huddersfield Town in 2021 and has been at the Terriers ever since, accumulating 157 appearances.
Ed Upson
Upson made a significant number of appearances for Rovers and MK Dons. Despite coming through the academy at Ipswich Town, the midfielder failed to make a senior league appearance for the Tractor Boys and had short loan spells at Stevenage Borough (now known as Stevenage) and Barnet before departing for Yeovil Town in 2010.
He played 129 league matches across four seasons at the Glovers, helping them gain promotion to the Championship via the playoffs. He scored the only goal in their first-ever win in the second tier and played 24 times in the Championship before departing for Millwall. He spent three seasons at the Lions before moving to MK Dons, where he scored six goals across 79 League One matches.
After the Dons were relegated from the third tier, Upson moved to the Gas, where he played 121 times in all competitions across three campaigns, only appearing more for Yeovil in his career. Upson then had one-season spells at Newport County, Stevenage and Stowmarket Town before two terms at Bury Town.
George Williams
Williams started his career at MK Dons, but he left to join Midland Football League side Loughborough University, where he was studying. He had spells at Worcester City, Barnsley and Barrow (on loan) before returning to the Dons in 2016. He was a regular in his first season back at the club, appearing 33 times and earning the Player of the Year and the Players' Player of the Year award.
His impressive season earned him a new contract until 2020, with the defender also featuring 30 times in the 2018/19 campaign, where MK Dons earned promotion from League Two with a third-place finish. After 174 games at MK Dons, he left the club when he had only six months left on his contract to join Rovers. However, he only played 26 times for the Gas before going to Cambridge United. He had two seasons at the U's before switching to Manchester Town.
