Wanderers Head Coach Ian Evatt will take charge of his first competitive fixture tomorrow afternoon with fellow Sky Bet League Two side Bradford City the visitors to the University of Bolton Stadium for a Carabao Cup Round One tie.
There could be a whole host of players making their Bolton Wanderers debuts tomorrow afternoon, notably so strike duo Eoin Doyle and Nathan Delfouneso as well as newly appointed captain, Antoni Sarcevic who was last weekend elected to wear the armband for the 2020/21 campaign.
Team news will be available from 2pm tomorrow afternoon.
Pre-Match Quotes:
Ian Evatt: ‘It’ll be a good game. They’ll fancy their chances in League Two this season, they’re a big club in their own right. It’s a good test because it’s a good benchmark for where we’re at.
‘This is the real thing now, we’ve been waiting a long time for this. Hopefully the lads will go out there, focus on the process and what we’re trying to do as a team. If we do that then I’m more than confident that we’ll get the right result.’
Stuart McCall: ‘We are going flat out for a victory. The game is against one of our rivals who have just come down into the same division as us.
‘We will go out there and treat it as though it is our first league game, because we are desperate to win.
‘Playing behind closed doors will be a big learning curve for everybody involved, but we are just looking forward to being in a competitive game.’
How to watch:
The game will be available to watch with an iFollow match pass available for just £10.
Click on the link to purchase yours: https://www.bwfc.co.uk/ifollow
Team News:
Dennis Politic will be unavailable for the foreseeable future after sustaining a knee injury in the pre-season victory at Loughborough University. Liam Edwards and Muhammadu Faal are likely to miss out through injury.
Eoin Doyle could line up against his former side for the first time since departing Valley Parade for Swindon Town earlier in the year.
Bradford City’s Levi Sutton is suspended but aside from him, Stuart McCall declared everyone as fit and ready. Former Wanderer Clayton Donaldson could line up for the Bantams tomorrow afternoon.
Bookies Odds:
Bolton win: 1/1
Draw: 23/10
Bradford win: 13/5
Correct as of 04/09/2020 (4.30pm) on skybet.com
Form:
Many people say that you can’t read too much into pre-season results but Wanderers have had a pretty encouraging summer in the main.
Wanderers recorded four victories against Atherton Collieries, Bamber Bridge, Loughborough University and Accrington Stanley but have lost the last two rehearsals against Sky Bet League One duo Wigan Athletic and Crewe Alexandra.
The Bantams have been beaten three times in their three known pre-season friendlies. Losing by a goal against Doncaster Rovers, Huddersfield Town and Wigan Athletic.
Stuart McCall’s side will be looking to build on a 9th place finish in Sky Bet League Two last season with Wanderers aiming to bounce back in style following relegation from Sky Bet League One.
Last time out:
Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Bradford City | Checkatrade Trophy | 03/09/19
Wanderers: Alexander, Brockbank, Senior, Zouma, Boon, King-Harmes (Fitzmartin 76), Graham, Weir, Politic (White 82), Darcy, Brown (Brown-Sterling 65).
Bradford City: Hornby, French, P.O’Connor, Richards-Everton, Gibson, Anderson, Devine, Pritchard (Wood 66), Longridge, Devitt (Patrick 17), Donaldson (Ismail 63).
Match Officials:
Referee: Martin Coy
Assistant Referees: Matthew Parry and Thomas Harty
Fourth Official: Paul Stonier