Wanderers play their game in hand on their remaining play-off rivals when they face Accrington Stanley at the University of Bolton Stadium on Tuesday night.
Ian Evatt’s in-form side will be looking to make it back-to-back home wins to get within two points of a guaranteed top-six finish with two further games to go.
Stanley are fighting at the other end of the table and need points to keep their survival hopes alive and extend their stay in League One into a fifth season.
Manager quotes:
Ian Evatt:
“The same outcome (as Saturday) would be great. I think it will be a different game. I think it’s going to be a lot more end-to-end and a lot more transitional.
“We have to manage those transitions and be clinical in front of goal, which we weren’t in the second half of on Saturday.
“We’ve got the players to take those chances. And, as I said on Saturday, if it’s not the 11 who are starting, we’ve got options from the bench to come and make a difference.
“I have a huge amount of respect for that football club (Accrington), where they’ve come from and what they’ve achieved. John is a fantastic football person, who’s done wonderful things there. One thing I know is that team will be motivated. They will not want to go down.
“They will be fighting to the very end, while they’ve still got a chance. We have to match that determination and fight and then make sure we play our way and hopefully that’s enough to get the three points."
Accrington manager John Coleman:
“The truth is we should be dead and buried but we are not. We haven’t won anywhere near enough games, certainly at home, and we have found a way to lose games that we should be winning.
“The one good thing is we are still alive and have an opportunity to do something about it. It’s a big ask but big asks have been done before.
“The first time we played Bolton, we were 2-0 up and then we capitulated in half an hour and fair play to them they played really well in the second half.
“I don’t think we deserved to lose the cup game, playing so long with ten men, so we know we can compete with them, we have to find a way to trouble them going forward.
“We won’t be going for the draw, it’s not in our nature. If we go for the draw, we will get battered so we have to compete and nick a goal and then I think the game is there to be won and we have to believe we can win.
“It's got to be all hands to the pump and hopefully we will get there. Hopefully we will have the best ten days of our career here and stay in League One, we will fight all the way.”
Team news:
Wanderers’ defender Eoin Toal has returned to training and could come into contention after missing five games with an ankle injury he sustained in the Whites’ Papa Johns Trophy final win.
Captain Ricardo Almeida Santos has also stepped up his comeback after the same amount of time out but is not as close to a return.
Striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and defender Jack Iredale are also working their way back towards full fitness but aren’t yet ready to figure after longer spells out.
Accrington are without midfielder Liam Coyle due to suspension, while top scorer Tommy Leigh is expected to miss the Reds’ final three games with a shoulder injury sustained in Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Portsmouth.
However, captain Seamus Conneely is expected to return in midfield after missing the last nine matches through injury.
Form guide:
Wanderers secured a first home win in three games against Shrewsbury Town last Saturday to return to fifth place in the League One table - two points ahead of Peterborough United in seventh spot.
Josh Sheehan’s winner and a 21st clean sheet of the League One season also extended the Whites’ unbeaten run to seven matches.
The two sides will be meeting for a third time this season, with Wanderers winning 3-2 at Accrington in the league and then recording a 2-0 victory in the semi-finals of the Papa Johns Trophy.
Accrington are sitting 23rd in the table after winning just one of their last 11 games.
The Reds have lost eight of their last nine fixtures but are only three points behind Oxford United (albeit with a significantly worse goal difference) who currently occupy the last safe spot.
Accrington go to Oxford on the last day after hosting Cambridge, who are currently 22nd in the standings, on Saturday.
Officials:
Referee: James Linington
Assistant referees: Philip Dermott, Akil Howson
Fourth official: Ollie Yates
Kick-off:
Tuesday 7.45pm
Tickets
Tickets are still available for official club members and can be bought HERE
This is a category B fixture with ticket prices are as follows:
Adults from: £23.00
Over 65s from: £18.00
Under 23s from: £18.00
Under 18s: £13.00
Under 12s: £8.00
Coverage:
The game will be available to watch live on BWFC iFollow with a £10 video match pass which can be purchased HERE