🗞️ Preview: Forest Green Rovers vs. Bolton Wanderers

Bolton Wanderers make their first-ever visit to the New Lawn tomorrow when they take on Forest Green Rovers in front of the Sky Sports cameras (Kick Off: 12pm) as they aim to continue their excellent form which has seen them win ten and draw two of their last 12 matches.

Pre-Match Quotes: 

Ian Evatt: “It’ll be a good and a tough game, but I think it’ll be a great advert for League Two football. I think probably the two best technical teams in the division. Forest Green try and pass and play and probe, and play through the thirds like we do, which is a good challenge

"But it's also good for us because we believe that they’ll come out at us and therefore leave space and opportunities for us to counter-press and play on transitions, but also build attacks and play through them that way. I think it’ll be a very good game.

"I think they’re two very good teams. I respect Mark (Cooper) as a manager and I respect what he’s done down there with the way they play. We’re looking forward to it and we’re excited. It’s great to be involved in these big TV games.

"Whoever has chosen this game all those weeks ago for Sky must have a crystal ball because at the time we were miles away, but they’ve obviously read the script that they thought we’d be close come the time and that’s proven.

"We’re really happy, we’re really excited and we’re in great form. The lads have trained superbly well and we’re going there full of confidence.”

Mark Cooper: “I think if you look at Ian’s Barrow team last year, they played a decent style of football. We were the last team to do that in the National League so Ian’s shown that you can get out of the National League by playing football, and he’s kept that up in League Two.

"We’ve had to change a little bit this season because we lost Carl Winchester, that dominant holding midfield player who could dominate the tempo of the game, so we’ve had to change because we don’t have one of those at the moment. We’ve had to adapt a little bit, but the boys have done great. 

“You always have to be aware of every team's strengths and weaknesses. We do that every time we prepare for a game. We’re fully aware of Bolton’s strengths and weaknesses and I’m sure they are aware of ours. We have to concentrate on our strengths and try and expose their weaknesses.”

How to Watch:

The game is live on Sky Sports and kicks off at 12pm. The game won’t be streamed live on iFollow for BWFC fans; however, audio-only match passes are available priced at £2.50. 

Team News:

Wanderers have no fresh injury concerns to contend with as captain Antoni Sarcevic, Dennis Politic and Liam Edwards continue with their rehabilitation.

Form:

Wanderers are currently at the summit of the Sky Bet League Two form table, based on the last ten games.

Ten wins and two draws during a 12-game period have seen them pick up 32 points from a possible 36 which has propelled them to within two points of the automatic promotion slots.

Meanwhile, Forest Green Rovers, who are just two points ahead of Wanderers in third place in the league table, have lost three of their last ten matches whilst picking up five victories during that spell.

Last time out:

For the first time in September, Forest Green visited Bolton and ran-out 1-0 winners at the University of Bolton Stadium.

Carl Winchester netted the game's only goal during the second half as Wanderers opened their Sky Bet League Two game with a reverse.

Match Officials:

Referee: David Rock.

Assistant Referees: Matthew Lee and Daniel Flynn.

Fourth Official: John Busby.