Bolton Wanderers travel to Whaddon Road this weekend where they will expect to beat the hosts, Cheltenham Town. However, when the two teams met last season, the home side won 1-0 on both occasions which clearly shows this fixture has traditionally been rather tight.
Cheltenham Town
Cheltenham fans should be pleased with the way their team approached last weekend’s game despite the score line suggesting otherwise. The Robins suffered a 1-0 defeat away to Shrewsbury Town but registered the most attempts on goal, a promising sign ahead of the game versus Bolton. Their star player, Aidan Keena, struggled to get into the game and resolving that issue will be a priority this week in training. Keena was rested for 45 minutes in the midweek EFL Cup clash against Birmingham where the Robins never really got out of first gear.
Wade Elliot may try to replicate the tactics he used last season which earned Cheltenham a 1-0 victory over this weekend’s visitors, but this time around they will be without Alfie May who scored 20 of the Robins 45 goals last season. The lack of attacking threat will concern Elliot, but he will be confident that he can turn around the disappointing start.
Bolton Wanderers
Ian Evatt will be thrilled with the way his side performed this week after a 3-0 victory over Lincoln City in the league and a 1-0 win against Barrow in the EFL Cup. Last weekend, Bolton were brilliant and dominated the opposition with ease. Jack Iredale, Randall Williams, and Ricardo Santos all starred and the Trotters didn’t concede a single shot on target. They also achieved that statistic against Barrow last night which highlights how incredible their defensive set up is and how difficult it is to get a foothold in the game against them.
The boss will expect more of the same against Cheltenham in term of their possessional dominance, attacking threat and proactive defending. Bolton will dominate the ball and could hit similar possession levels to the previous two games (70%). The Squad is full of confidence which is a contrast to the current moral at Cheltenham which may just give them an added advantage before the game has even started.
Verdict?
Bolton should be extremely comfortable on Saturday and it would take a huge shift in performance from both sides for the Trotters to not walk away with three points. The Robins are yet to score this season and the visitors are yet to concede, therefore Bolton are expected to win once again.
The final prediction is Cheltenham Town 0-2 Bolton Wanderers.
