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

Both sides won their respective FA Cup first round ties over the weekend and now return to league action with the visitors looking to close the gap on the sides at the top.

Match preview

While already well in contention near the top, Bolton have the advantage of games in hand, having one over most sides and two on Stevenage and Blackpool.

Ahead of this clash, Ian Evatt's side are six points adrift of leaders Portsmouth, but a win will move them level on points with second-placed Oxford United.

Saturday's cup tie was not too taxing on the legs either, as Bolton were given a kind draw, facing non-league Solihull Moors, a clash they went on to win 4-0.

That result was a seventh win in eight for Wanderers, with the five prior to the weekend all coming in League One, moving them into third, as well as an 8-1 win over Manchester United's Under-21s, sealing their place in the EFL Trophy knockouts.

Bolton also now face an opponent against whom they have enjoyed plenty of success against in recent times, winning five of the previous eight meetings.

Their only two defeats to Shrewsbury both came here at the New Meadow though, so manager Matty Taylor will hope they can take advantage of familiar surroundings again.

Defender Chey Dunkley was the late hero as Shrewsbury came from behind to win 3-2 in last season's league meeting here.

Shrewsbury had been going well, but have hit a stumbling block, losing their last two league games, with Dunkley's red card at Wigan Athletic proving decisive as they lost 2-0 just days after a 3-0 loss at Oakwell versus Barnsley.

Those two defeats came after a run of three games which saw Taylor's side pick up seven points which initially moved them away from trouble.

However, recent results mean they have been sucked back into the relegation battle and are only three points clear of the bottom four.

Attacking woes is the clear problem for Taylor to rectify, as only Cheltenham Town have scored fewer across all of England's professional leagues this season.

A woeful tally of just seven goals in their 15 league games so far is remarkably low, and they have gone almost four hours without a League One goal.

They are still some way short of matching the unwanted record they put together from late August to early October though, when Shrewsbury went an incredible 13 hours without finding the net.

Despite their lack of goals, Shrewsbury have been efficient with the goals they have managed, as those seven goals have translated into 17 points, including four wins.

There were no issues in attack at the weekend either as Taylor led his side into the second round of the FA Cup by beating Colchester United 3-2.

Shrewsbury Town League One form:

L

W

D

W

L

L

Shrewsbury Town form (all competitions):

W

D

W

L

L

W

Bolton Wanderers League One form:

W

W

L

W

W

W

Bolton Wanderers form (all competitions):

W

L

W

W

W

W

Advert - content below:

Team News

Dunkley should return to the Shrewsbury side after serving a one-match ban following his sending off at Wigan.

Kieran Phillips is set to be out for an extended period due to a knee injury, joining Morgan Feeney, Ryan Finnigan and George Nurse on the sidelines.

Bolton will be without both backup goalkeeper Joel Coleman and defender George Johnston due to injury, while Zac Ashworth is a doubt with a calf strain.

Northern Ireland international Dion Charles has been in excellent goalscoring form, netting 11 goals in 16 appearances so far this season.

Charles could be joined in attack by Carlos Mendes Gomes, who made his return after two months out as second-half substitute against Solihull.

Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:

Marosi; Winchester, Flanagan, Dunkley, Sraha, Benning; Perry, Bennett, Bayliss; Udoh, Bowman

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Baxter; Jones, Ricardo Santos, Toal; Cogley, Sheehan, Thomason, Morley, Williams; Charles, Adeboyejo

We say: Shrewsbury Town 0-2 Bolton Wanderers

Shrewsbury's lack of goals is extremely concerning, and they may struggle against one of the league's strongest outfits.

Previews by email