Former Premier League foes Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic occupy one of Saturday's 12.30pm kickoff slots in League One at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
The two sides return to league action following contrasting EFL Trophy results, as Ian Evatt's men battled past Huddersfield Town 3-1, while the Latics went down to Chesterfield in the last 32.
Match preview
© Imago
Furthering their chances of ending the 2024-25 season with a slice of Wembley silverware, Bolton made light work of Huddersfield in their EFL Trophy last-32 showdown on Tuesday, as Klaidi Lolos broke the deadlock before a double from substitute Aaron Collins.
A Trotters player put the ball in the back of the net for the fourth time in stoppage time, although Josh Dacres-Cogley's own goal proved insignificant in the grand scheme of things as Bolton eased into the last 16, prolonging a positive trend in the process.
Indeed, Evatt's troops now have four wins under their belt from their last five matches, all of which have come at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, and their playoff fate is in their own hands despite the fact that they reside in seventh place in the League One table.
Bolton have a game in hand on sixth-placed Reading, who are just one point better off and also reeling from the departure of manager Ruben Selles, and their most recent League One contest ended in a routine 3-1 home success over faltering Mansfield Town.
Evatt's team were scheduled to pit their wits against Bristol Rovers last weekend, but that third-tier game was one of several across the country postponed due to Storm Darragh, arguably a welcome delay for a Bolton side who have played their best football in front of the home crowd this term.
© Imago
The Trotters are on the hunt for a seventh successive home victory across all competitions in the current campaign, but while Bolton will be in the pot for the EFL Trophy last-16 draw, Wigan's hopes of stardom crashed and burned at the home of Chesterfield on December 10.
An injury-time strike from on-loan Manchester United attacker Joe Hugill was no use as Shaun Maloney's men fell to a 3-2 loss at the hands of their League Two counterparts, extending their dampening losing sequence to three matches in all tournaments after two unsuccessful League One engagements.
Not feeling any sort of Christmas cheer, Wigan have been beaten by Huddersfield (1-0 away) and Leyton Orient (2-0 at home) in the third tier since December kicked off, leaving them dangling dangerously close to the dotted line in 19th place, just a single point clear of the drop zone.
As Bolton excel on home soil, the visitors travel to the Toughsheet Community Stadium with just one win to show from their last six League One matches on rival territory, and Maloney's men have failed to score in four of those contests against Lincoln City, Stockport County, Cambridge United and Huddersfield.
However, the head-to-head history certainly favours the Latics, who are unbeaten in eight straight games against Bolton and can win three successive away league matches against them for the very first time, having stormed to 4-0 victories in both 2021 and 2023.
Team News
© Imago
Bolton came out of their win over Huddersfield with no fresh concerns on the fitness front; Jordi Osei-Tutu was taken off before the hour, but the ex-Arsenal product is simply being carefully managed after previous hamstring problems.
However, Josh Sheehan will be missing for a couple of weeks with his own issue in the same area, while none of Chris Forino, Kyle Dempsey, Eoin Toal or Carlos Mendes Gomes were involved in the EFL Trophy success either.
Mendes Gomes is expected to be the first of the injured quintet to return, but the visit of Wigan will still come too soon for the 26-year-old wide man.
As for Wigan, on-loan Liverpool defender Luke Chambers is still on the mend from a back injury, while Dion Rankine was unavailable for the loss to Colchester after coming off in the first half against Leyton Orient.
Maloney has now confirmed that Rankine will be sidelined until April with that severe hamstring problem, and he is also unsure whether Silko Thomas and Steven Sessegnon will be back from their own concerns against Bolton.
Should Sessegnon fail to make the cut, former Newcastle United defender Paul Dummett is in line for a start at left-back, but James Carragher - son of Liverpool great Jamie Carragher - should drop out for Jason Kerr.
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Jones, Santos, Johnston; Williams, McAtee, Matete, Dacres-Cogley; Lolos; Collins, Adeboyejo
Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Tickle; Sibbick, Kerr, Aimson, Dummett; Adeeko, Smith; McManaman, Aasgaard, Olakigbe; Hugill
We say: Bolton Wanderers 2-0 Wigan Athletic
Bolton at home is usually a foregone conclusion from the first whistle, as Evatt's men have turned the Toughsheet Community Stadium into a fortress of late, even if they have struggled for clean sheets.
As Wigan are out of sorts and looking a bit light up top, their stronghold over the Trotters should cease as Bolton beat the Latics in a competitive game for the first time since 2015.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
