Bolton Wanderers and Plymouth Argyle will do battle at Wembley Stadium on Sunday in the EFL Trophy final.
Both teams will put their League One promotion bids on hold and travel to the capital with the chance to pick up their first silverware of the season.
Match preview
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Bolton Wanderers began their EFL Trophy campaign in the group stage alongside Tranmere Rovers, Crewe Alexandra and Leeds United, and they would advance to the knockout staged with a first-placed finish thanks to wins over the latter two.
That booked them a tie with Barrow, and Ian Evatt's side eventually came out of an eventful contest on top with a 3-2 triumph, before meeting Manchester United Under-21s and cruising through to the quarter-finals with a 4-0 victory courtesy of goals from Oladapo Afolayan, Aaron Morley, Amadou Bakayoko and Conor Bradley.
A 1-0 home victory over Portsmouth continued the Trotters' cup run further, before they eventually punched their ticket to Wembley with a 2-0 triumph away at Accrington Stanley in February, with Elias Kachunga and Morley netting the vital goals in the final 10 minutes.
Although Evatt's men followed up that latest cup victory with a win over Port Vale in their bid to establish themselves in the playoff places, they have since failed to put another three-point haul on the board in four attempts, firstly suffering defeats either side of a disappointing stalemate with Morecambe before, at least, taking a much more commendable result last time out, as Victor Adeboyejo earned them a point in a 1-1 draw away at high-flying Sheffield Wednesday.
Having now not been in action in the two weeks since that draw, the Trotters will travel to Wembley well-rested, and despite having their lead over the chasing pack in the playoff fight cut to just a single point as a result of their dip, all focus will be on Sunday's final as they bid to take the trophy back to Lancashire.
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They face a difficult task, though, as in their way stand a Plymouth Argyle side who have been a dominant force throughout the League One season thus far.
In what has been a strong campaign on all fronts, with the Pilgrims rarely dropping out of the automatic promotion places at any point, Steven Schumacher's side cruised through their EFL Trophy group with an almost perfect record, before advancing with knockout wins over Crystal Palace Under-21s and Charlton Athletic.
That put them into the round of 16, and they would advance further with a penalty shootout triumph over AFC Wimbledon after a dramatic 3-3 draw, before seeing off Bristol Rovers and coming out on top in another shootout against Cheltenham in February to reach this stage, after Ryan Hardie tied the game level at a goal apiece on the hour mark.
Since that victory, the Pilgrims have successfully leapfrogged Sheffield Wednesday to move back to the summit of the League One table and head into Sunday's final on the back of consecutive three-point hauls, firstly seeing off strugglers Forest Green Rovers on home turf before dishing out a 2-0 defeat away at Accrington Stanley thanks to goals from Matt Butcher and Conor Grant.
Now on a high from those results, which have significantly strengthened their automatic promotion bid, Plymouth will turn their focus to Sunday's final with the chance to add to their trophy cabinet for the first time since 2004 while building further momentum for their title charge in the upcoming run-in.
Team News
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Bolton will likely remain without Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, MJ Williams and Jack Iredale for the trip to the capital, as the trio are confined to the treatment room.
Their line will be led by Dion Charles, who has netted 18 goals for the Trotters in all competitions so far this season, and the frontman will come into the game with added confidence after scoring a brace in Northern Ireland's 2-0 victory over San Marino in the recent international break.
He should again be joined by Victor Adeboyejo, who netted his second league goal for the club in their draw with Sheffield Wednesday after making a clinical start to the campaign for Burton Albion, while Kieran Lee, Josh Sheehan and Kyle Dempsey could all keep their places in the engine room in a 3-5-2 setup.
Plymouth Argyle are still yet to welcome forward Sam Cosgrove back to action after his injury setback, although Schumacher does have options in attack, with Ryan Hardie set to lead the line for the Pilgrims, having netted 17 goals in all competitions this season including four in the EFL Trophy, while the likes of Finn Azaz, Danny Mayor, Niall Ennis and Callum Wright are also fighting to feature in the front three.
First-choice goalkeeper Michael Cooper also remains sidelined, meaning Callum Burton will again play between the sticks, and while Dan Scarr is vying to return to the back three from the outset, they may instead go with an unchanged defensive unit of James Wilson, James Bolton and Macaulay Gillesphey.
Competition is also rife in midfield, with Matt Butcher and Jordan Houghton both fighting to keep their places in the starting XI for the Wembley trip but facing competition from Jay Matete and Conor Grant.
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Jones, Santos, Toal; Bradley, Sheehan, Dempsey, Lee, John; Charles, Adeboyejo
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Burton; Wilson, Bolton, Gillesphey; Mumba, Houghton, Mayor, Earley; Azaz, Hardie, Mayor
We say: Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Plymouth Argyle
We certainly anticipate a close-fought encounter at Wembley, but Plymouth Argyle have been the stronger of the teams throughout the season thus far, and we anticipate their quality being enough to get them over the line on Sunday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
