With the 2023-24 English Premier League season less than a month from getting underway, Everton will continue their preparation when they travel to Toughsheet Community Stadium to take on Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday evening.
The hosts have been solid in pre-season so far and come into this match following a 2-1 win over Salford City on Saturday, while the visitors secured a 1-0 win over Wigan Athletic later that day.
Match preview
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After ending the 2021-22 League One season in ninth place, Bolton showed improvement last season with a fifth-placed finish, and they will be desperate to pull closer to the promotions spots this term.
Over the course of the season, Ian Evatt's side recorded 26 wins, eight draws and 12 losses in the league, finishing 15 points behind Sheffield Wednesday in third and eight points better off than they were the previous season.
The hosts have been busy in the pre-season, having already played five matches this month, and it has gone fairly well for them so far, winning four of those matches while drawing just one against Chester City.
Bolton secured 47 of a possible 69 points at home last season (W14 D5 L4), which was only the fifth-best in the league, although they did manage an unbeaten run of nine games on either side on New Year, which included seven clean sheets.
The last time the hosts beat Everton at this venue was way back in the 2011-12 season when they were a Premier League side, and while they are not fancied to win this match, their players will want to give a good account of themselves against top-class opposition and cement their spots in the side with the league season just around the corner.
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Meanwhile, last season was almost unimaginable from an Evertonian perspective as the Toffees came within a whisker of being relegated from the Premier League for the first time since its creation in 1992.
After spending a large portion of the season below the dotted line and looking deflated, Frank Lampard was replaced by Sean Dyche, who made an instant impact by beating the league leaders at the time, Arsenal, 1-0 in his first match in charge.
In their 38 league matches, Everton managed just eight wins, which was one less than relegated Leicester City recorded, but a crucial strike from Abdoulaye Doucoure against Bournemouth on the final day of the season saw his side edge out the Foxes to safety by just two points.
Everton have played two pre-season friendlies so far and won both, beating Stade Nyonnais 2-1 with Katia Kouyate and Neal Maupay getting on the scoresheet, while the 38-year-old Ashley Young secured the win against Wigan Athletic over the weekend.
The Toffees only managed two wins on the road the whole of last season, which was the second-worst record in the league, but with a few new faces in the dressing room and a good pre-season up to this point, things are starting to look up for Dyche's men, and they will want to keep building momentum as they edge closer to their first league match against Fulham next month.
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Team News
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George Johnston is likely to miss the pre-season for the hosts as he continues his recovery following a serious knee injury and surgery earlier this year.
Ricardo Santos made a welcomed return to the Wanderers side against Bradford City and should start again here as he works his way back to full fitness after picking up an injury toward the end of last season.
Seamus Coleman is unlikely to feature in the preseason for Dyche as the first-team captain has been suffering from a knee injury, and reports suggest that he may even miss the first couple of league games next month.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (hamstring), Amadou Onana (groin) and Vitalii Mykolenko (knock) have all been flagged as doubtful for the match, although the latter may still feature if he can pass a late fitness test.
Despite playing the majority of the last few years in defence, Dyche opted to deploy Young in a more advanced role in the last match, and after an excellent performance, we could see a similar strategy employed in this one.
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Gilks; Jones, Santos, Baptiste, John; Williams, Lee, Isgrove, Thomason, Afolayan; Doyle
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Godfrey, Keane; McNeil, Gueye, Doucoure, Iwobi, Young; Maupay
We say: Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Everton
Everton were far from convincing against Wigan Athletic over the weekend, but in true Dyche style, they ground out a result to keep their momentum going. We expect the hosts to put on a good performance in this one, but the Premier League outfit should come out on top.
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Devesh Jaganath
