Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

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

sportsmole.co.uk, 3 October 2022, 06:02
Seeking to pick up a fourth consecutive home win for the first time since May 2021, Cheltenham Town play host to Bolton Wanderers at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium on Tuesday.

The Trotters, who have won their last four outings, will set out to maintain this impressive run and strengthen their position in the upper echelons of the league standings.

Match preview

After a rocky start to the new season, where they picked up one point from their opening four games, Cheltenham Town, who secured a 15th-placed finish last season, have picked up the pieces in recent weeks.

Wade Elliott's men picked up successive victories for the first time this season on Saturday as they comfortably saw off Shrewsbury Town 2-0 when the sides squared off at the Completely-Suzuki Stadium.

Irish international Sean Long netted on the stroke of half time to put the Robins in front before Alfie May added to the scoreline almost immediately after the restart to put the result beyond doubt and hand Shrewsbury their fourth defeat of the season.

Cheltenham Town are now unbeaten in five of their last six games across all competitions, claiming one draw and five wins, including a 2-1 victory over Walsall in the EFL Trophy on September 30.

This fine run of results has helped Tuesday's hosts rise into 17th place in the League One standings as they are now level on 11 points with Wycombe Wanderers and Oxford United after 10 rounds of matches.

Bolton Wanderers, on the other hand, returned to winning ways in style as they edged out Lincoln City 2-0 when the sides squared off at the weekend.

In a one-sided affair at the University of Bolton Stadium, Dion Charles and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson scored on either side of the half-time interval to hand the hosts a comfortable victory.

Prior to that, Ian Evatt's side saw their four-game winning streak come to an end on September 20, when they lost on penalties to Tranmere Rovers in the EFL Trophy after a 2-2 draw in normal time.

Bolton Wanderers now return to the League One, where they have won their last four outings, scoring eight goals and keeping three clean sheets since a 2-0 loss at Plymouth Argyle on August 27.

The Trotters have now picked up six wins, two draws and lost two of their 10 games this season to collect 20 points and sit sixth in the league standings, level on points with fifth-placed Barnsley, albeit with one game in hand.

Bolton will fancy their chances of maintaining this fine run as their next task sees them go up against a Cheltenham side who have failed to win any of the last four meetings between the teams, losing twice and claiming two draws since a 1-0 victory in November 2016.

Cheltenham Town League One form:

W

L

D

W

L

W

Cheltenham Town form (all competitions):

W

D

W

L

W

W

Bolton Wanderers League One form:

L

L

W

W

W

W

Bolton Wanderers form (all competitions):

W

W

W

W

D

W

Team News

Long got off the mark for the season with his opener against Shrewsbury Town on Saturday and the 27-year-old defender should make up the back three, alongside Caleb Taylor and Lewis Freestone.

Cheltenham Town will take to the pitch without the midfield duo of James Olayinka and 21-year-old Dan Adshead, who have missed the last three games through injuries.

They are joined on the club's injury table by English youngster Zac Guinan, who has been sidelined since July, while defender James Taylor came off injured against Milton Keynes Dons on August 30.

Off the back of keeping a third consecutive clean sheet in the league, Evatt could name an unchanged back four of Gethin Jones, Ricardo Santos and George Johnson for the seventh game on the spin.

George Thomason and former Liverpool man Jordan Williams should team up at the centre of the park, while Jack Iredale and Conor Bradley, who has four goal involvements this season, should retain their wing-back roles.

At the attacking end of the pitch, Bodvarsson staked his claim for a place in the starting XI with his fine cameo against Lincoln City and the 30-year-old could come into the fold, teaming up with Charles and Kieran Lee.

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:

Southwood; Long, Taylor, Freestone; Jackson, Ferry, Sercombe, Bonds; Broom, May, N'Lundulu

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Trafford; Jones, Santos, Johnston; Bradley, Iredale, Thomason, Williams; Lee, Charles, Bodvarsson

We say: Cheltenham Town 1-2 Bolton Wanderers

While Cheltenham Town will be looking to put together a fine run of form, next up is a spirited Bolton side who are unbeaten in their last four encounters. The visitors head into the midweek clash on a run of four consecutive league victories and are tipping them to keep the juggernaut rolling and claim a slender victory in this one.

Previews by email

Top News

2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly joined the race to sign AC Milan defender and ex-Chelsea man Fikayo Tomori as Ange Postecoglou seeks solutions to his side's defensive crisis. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Having endured a rough end to 2024, Moreirense and AVS will both be hopeful of improved fortunes in the new year as they kick off 2025 with a meeting at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas on Saturday. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are supposedly giving consideration to an audacious swap deal involving wantaway striker Marcus Rashford and Napoli frontman Victor Osimhen. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has reportedly made two demands of the Reds if he is to snub Real Madrid and sign a new deal at Anfield. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Lyon and Montpellier HSC lock horns for the 60th time in Ligue 1 on Saturday, with the hosts seeking a 30th win against their upcoming opponents. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Preston North End are set to welcome Oxford United on Saturday to Deepdale in their 26th Championship game of the season. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Brentford manager Thomas Frank remains without three of his first-choice central defenders ahead of their trip to Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Benfica and Braga are in action for the first time in the new year when they go head to head at the Estadio da Luz in round 17 of the Primeira Liga on Saturday. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk If Fulham are to lose Andreas Pereira either this month or in the summer transfer window amid links with Marseille, the Cottagers could take a quick look across the English capital for a natural replacement for the Brazilian. 2 January 2025 talksport.com Real Madrid Carlo Ancelotti has kept his cards close to his chest regarding the club's pursuit of Liverpool ace Trent Alexander-Arnold. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The only team yet to taste defeat in the Turkish Super Lig, Galatasaray, will welcome one of the season's surprise packages, Goztepe SK, to Rams Park on Saturday in what promises to be an intriguing encounter. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Two sides at opposite ends of the Turkish Super Lig table will go head-to-head when Samsunspor welcome Trabzonspor to the Samsun 19 May Stadium on Saturday. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be aiming to move to the top of the La Liga table when they head to Valencia on Friday night. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee has reportedly fallen out with Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim, with the Dutchman moving closer to the exit door at Old Trafford. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has addressed suggestions that his club could make a second offer for Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold before the end of the January transfer window. 2 January 2025 talksport.com Ashley Cole has opened up about the painful circumstances surrounding his controversial departure from Arsenal in 2006. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Enzo Maresca is set to recall the five players who dropped out of his Chelsea side at Ipswich Town last week when they travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace on Saturday in the Premier League. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi will return to face his former club Chelsea when the two lock horns at Selhurst Park in the Premier League on Saturday. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has reportedly rejected three offers worth in the region of £35m a year to leave Old Trafford. 2 January 2025 talksport.com A cheeky grin from Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes was all it took to rub further salt into Tottenham's gaping wounds. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Wojciech Szczesny is in line to make his debut for Barcelona in Saturday's Copa del Rey last-32 clash with Barbastro. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany feels that Phil Foden is at risk of being benched by Pep Guardiola for Saturday's Premier League clash with West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be bidding to avoid what would be one of the biggest shocks in the history of the Copa del Rey when they take on fourth-tier outfit Barbastro in the last-32 stage of the 2024-25 tournament on Saturday evening. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has suggested that "the penny might have finally dropped" for Pep Guardiola regarding his use of James McAtee as a first-team player. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min should continue his career in North London despite entering the last six months of his contract, ex-Spurs goalkeeper Kasey Keller has told Sports Mole. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Adana Demirspor will aim to carry forward the momentum from the end of last year as they host Istanbul Basaksehir at the New Adana Stadium on Saturday in a Round 18 Turkish Super Lig fixture. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea will look to improve on an awful end to 2024 when they travel to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace in their first Premier League game of the new year on Saturday. 2 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Atletico Madrid will be aiming to make it 13 wins in a row in all competitions when they take on third-tier outfit Marbella in the last-32 stage of the Copa del Rey on Saturday night. 2 January 2025 talksport.com Martin Keown is a household name in English football but it turns out we've been saying his name wrong for decades. 2 January 2025 talksport.com Rodri has spoken out after Cristiano Ronaldo questioned his Ballon d'Or triumph.