Both nurturing ambitions of achieving automatic promotion to the Championship this season, Bolton Wanderers and Huddersfield Town will clash at Toughsheet Community Stadium in League One on Saturday afternoon.
The Wanderers are off the pace in the early top-two race following the first batch of fixtures, whilst the Terriers have made a solid start on their return to the third tier of English football.
Match preview
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Following a third-placed finish in the 2023-24 League One regular season, Bolton fell at the final playoff hurdle as they battled for a place in the Championship for the first time since 2019, losing 2-0 in their Wembley showdown with Des Buckingham's Oxford United, who managed to turn up on the big occasion despite being the underdogs.
There is a school of thought that the Wanderers are still struggling with a playoff hangover during the early stages of the current third-tier campaign, with Ian Evatt's highly-fancied side collecting just four points from as many matches, meaning that they sit 18th in the league table.
Already nine points behind newly-promoted Wrexham, who sit top of the pile currently, Bolton have some work to do over the next seven days, when Saturday's hosts will be expected to earn maximum points from back-to-back home matches against former Premier League clubs Huddersfield and Reading.
The Wanderers' opening two League One fixtures at the Toughsheet Community Stadium have only yielded a single point, with Evatt's troops sharing the spoils valiantly with Ryan Reynolds's Wrexham before suffering a sobering 2-0 defeat to Exeter City on August 31, when Kami Doyle and Millenic Alli provided the strikes for the Grecians.
Finding the net on just two occasions so far in the 2024-25 league season, promotion hopefuls Bolton can only match basement dwellers Leyton Orient, Wigan Athletic and Stevenage in the goalscoring ranks - company that the Wanderers will be looking to dissociate from as quickly as possible.
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For the first time since their playoff-winning 2011-12 campaign, Huddersfield Town are competing in the third tier of English football at their Yorkshire base, with Saturday's visitors to Bolton enjoying a steady and respectable start to life back in League One following last campaign's Championship heartbreak.
That being said, the Terriers do not find themselves in the best form when considering results spanning all competitions, losing three straight matches across the EFL Cup, League One and EFL Trophy prior to the international break, including defeats at League Two outfits Walsall and Doncaster Rovers.
Focusing on third-tier matters, Huddersfield are knocking on the door of the playoff places as League One action resumes for the majority of clubs, with the Yorkshire-based side occupying seventh position after collecting nine points from their opening four contests.
After struggling enormously to conform to a certain style of play and win over the fans at Swansea City in the Championship, Michael Duff now has the task of returning the Terriers to the second tier at the first attempt, with the 46-year-old experienced at this level courtesy of his spells at Barnsley and Cheltenham Town.
Each of the last three meetings between Bolton and Huddersfield have been played at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, although the hosts are winless in that spell, with the Wanderers suffering a two-goal defeat when the sides last locked horns in a league fixture in January 2016.
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Team News
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Bolton remain without the services of striker Victor Adeboyejo, with the 26-year-old suffering a ribcage injury following a "hefty sneeze" prior to the international break.
As a result, the majority of the goalscoring burden will fall onto the shoulders of Dion Charles, who has netted once during the opening four League One games.
Joining Bolton permanently after a blistering campaign on loan at third-tier Barnsley in 2023-24, John McAtee could start up front with Charles this weekend.
After receiving his marching orders during a cameo against Rotherham, Huddersfield's Danny Ward will be unable to inflict any damage on Bolton at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.
With the veteran striker suspended, natural winger Josh Koroma could continue in the two-man forward line alongside West Ham United prospect Callum Marshall.
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Forino-Joseph, Santos, Johnston; Cogley, McAtee, Thomason, Sheehan, Osei-Tutu; Collins, Charles
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Lees, Helik, Linwijk; Hogg, Sorensen, Evans, Wiles, Miller; Koroma, Marshall
We say: Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Huddersfield Town
Both enjoying extensive periods on the training ground due to the international schedule, Bolton and Huddersfield should be raring to provide a competitive match for supporters at the Toughsheet on Saturday.
Without the threat of Adeboyejo in attack, we suspect the Wanderers to struggle in front of goal once more, leading to a low-scoring share of the spoils with the Terriers.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
![Rotherham United manager Steve Evans during the EFL Sky Bet League 1 match between Wycombe Wanderers and Rotherham United at Adams Park, High Wycombe, England, on 24 August 2024. [on August 25, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/11/29/1x1.gif?w=1&h=1 "Rotherham United manager Steve Evans during the EFL Sky Bet League 1 match between Wycombe Wanderers and Rotherham United at Adams Park, High Wycombe, England, on 24 August 2024. [on August 25, 2024]")
