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Northampton Town
League One | Gameweek 32
Feb 10, 2024 at 3pm UK
Sixfields Stadium
Bolton logo

Northampton
1 - 1
Bolton

Bowie (2')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Mendes Gomes (74')
Adeboyejo (23'), Sheehan (54'), Jones (90+1')
Evatt (24'), Thomason (27')

Preview: Northampton Town vs. Bolton Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's League One clash between Northampton Town and Bolton Wanderers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Northampton Town will be hoping to bounce back from consecutive defeats in League One when they host Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

The visitors, meanwhile, dropped outside of the automatic-promotion positions after drawing against Barnsley last weekend.


Match preview

Northampton Town manager Jon Brady pictured in May 2022© Reuters

Having defied pre-season expectations following their promotion from the fourth tier last season to maintain a top-half position for the majority of the current campaign, Northampton were bound to hit a stickier patch of form at some point.

That has proven to be the case in recent outings, with the Cobblers losing 2-0 at home to Shrewsbury Town, before being thrashed 4-1 away to the league leaders Portsmouth last weekend.

John Brady's side were up against it when goals from Connor Ogilvie and Paddy Lane gave the hosts an early two-goal lead, although they were handed a lifeline when Tom McIntyre was shown a straight red card in the 54th minute. Yet Lane bagged his brace just four minutes later before Callum Lang sealed the hosts' victory, with Marc Leonard scoring a late consolation.

With the playoffs now realistically looking out of reach for Northampton, they can focus on securing a top-half finish in their first season back in League One since suffering relegation in 2020-21. While they will understandably head into Saturday's contest as underdogs, Brady and his players will fancy achieving an upset at Sixfields Stadium.

Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt on January 7, 2024© Reuters

Bolton, meanwhile, were leapfrogged by Derby County in the table last weekend, following their 1-1 draw at home against potential promotion rivals Barnsley.

Devante Cole had fired the visitors into the lead after just five minutes, before Zac Ashworth levelled the proceedings shortly after the hour mark. The Trotters dominated possession with 69% of the ball, but neither side could find a winning goal in the end.

Bolton's match against Cambridge United in midweek was abandoned due to a waterlogged pitch at the Abbey Stadium, denying Ian Evatt's side the opportunity to move back into the top two positions in League One. As a result, they still have two games in hand on Derby and Peterborough United, and three on the league leaders Portsmouth.

However, it is points on the board that matter most, meaning that Evatt and his players will know that they need to return to winning ways against Northampton on Saturday in order to maintain pressure on the sides above them at the summit.

Northampton Town League One form:

Bolton Wanderers League One form:


Bolton Wanderers form (all competitions):



Team News

Bolton Wanderers' Kyle Dempsey and teammates before the match on January 7, 2024© Reuters

Brady could consider making some changes after seeing his side outplayed by Pompey in their heavy defeat last time out, with forwards Tyreece Simpson and Louis Appere both chomping at the bit to receive starting berths.

Appere could win that particular duel, with Kieron Bowie potentially dropping out of the hosts' attack as a result and Mitch Pinnock moving into a wider role, but Brady is unlikely to make too many other changes given his side's impressive season as a whole.

Bolton will remain without George Johnston, who is not expected to play again this season due to a serious knee injury. Randell Williams and Dan Nlundulu are also both out, while club captain Ricardo Santos was not involved against Barnsley or Cambridge and may have to sit out another match.

However, George Thomason is back from suspension, while Gethin Jones has returned from the Asia Cup after competing for Australia. Both players were named in the starting XI for the abandoned game against Cambridge, so they should start once again.


Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Burge; Willis, Monthe, Guthrie; Lintott, Leonard, Hondermarck, Brough; Pinnock, Appere, Hoskins

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Jones, Toal, Taylor; Cogley, Ogbeta, Sheehan, Thomason, Morley; Charles, Adeboyejo


SM words green background

We say: Northampton Town 0-2 Bolton Wanderers

Northampton's form appears to have hit a road block, but Brady will not be too concerned considering that they are almost certainly safe from relegation, which would have been their primary aim following promotion from League Two last season.

Bolton, on the other hand, are aiming to be in the Championship later this year, but they are likely to require embarking on an impressive run at some point in order to achieve that. We can envisage them winning to nil on Saturday, with Evatt's side already winning six games on the road this season in this manner.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.




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Game History

How you voted: Northampton vs Bolton

Northampton Town
12.5%
Draw
6.3%
Bolton Wanderers
81.3%
16
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Bolton Wanderers' Kyle Dempsey and teammates before the match on January 7, 2024
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Wycombe WanderersWycombe14102232161632
2Birmingham CityBirmingham1393124121230
3Wrexham1584322111128
4Stockport CountyStockport167632617927
5Barnsley157532419526
6Lincoln CityLincoln157532117426
7Mansfield TownMansfield137332015524
8Huddersfield TownHuddersfield147252114723
9Exeter CityExeter147251410423
10Reading147252221123
11Bolton WanderersBolton147252224-223
12Peterborough UnitedPeterborough156363127421
13Charlton AthleticCharlton145451515019
14Bristol Rovers155371621-518
15Stevenage155371116-518
16Northampton TownNorthampton154561821-317
17Rotherham UnitedRotherham154561418-417
18Blackpool154562128-717
19Wigan AthleticWigan143561212014
20Leyton Orient144281418-414
21Crawley TownCrawley163491427-1313
22Cambridge UnitedCambridge143291324-1111
23Burton Albion141581525-108
24Shrewsbury TownShrewsbury1522111327-148


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