Kieran McKenna will look to continue his winning start to life as Ipswich Town manager on Saturday, when they travel to take on Bolton Wanderers.

Back-to-back wins under the new boss have seen the Tractor Boys climb to 10th spot in the League One table, while their hosts sit 18th, having lost their last four league outings.

Match preview

Ian Evatt pictured in May 2018 © Reuters

After laying the foundations for an impressive league run, Bolton Wanderers have seen their form take a sharp dip since the beginning of December, having now lost their last five games in all competitions.

Following consecutive losses to Fleetwood Town, Accrington Stanley and Rotherham United, Ian Evatt's side suffered a particularly concerning 1-0 defeat at the hands of fourth-tier Hartlepool United in cup action, and they were unable to bounce back last time out.

The Lancashire outfit played host to promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers, and goals from Brandon Hanlan and Jack Grimmer either side of the interval ensured the hosts fell to a fourth straight League One defeat.

The Trotters' poor run of form has seen them drop to 18th spot, and, now sitting just three points above the drop zone, they are tasked with correcting their form and putting more distance between themselves and the bottom four.

That will certainly be no easy task though, as Ipswich Town arrive with renewed confidence.

After Paul Cook's struggles to get the best out of the Suffolk outfit in the first half of the campaign, Ipswich hired Kieran McKenna as the new boss at Portman Road, and he kicked off his tenure with a hard-fought 1-0 home win over third-placed Wycombe thanks to James Norwood's finish.

Norwood again opened the scoring last time out in their trip to Gillingham, before Wes Burns and Macauley Bonne stretched their lead to three goals inside the first 30 minutes and Conor Chaplin capped off a strong team showing by converting a late penalty to seal a 4-0 win.

Having now climbed to 10th spot in England's third tier, the Tractor Boys will certainly have their sights set on pushing for the playoff spots, and their claim will be improved if McKenna's men can make it three wins on the bounce on Saturday.

Bolton Wanderers League One form:

Bolton Wanderers form (all competitions):

Ipswich Town League One form:

Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

Team News

Bolton Wanderers' Marlon Fossey in action on January 11, 2022 © Reuters

Bolton Wanderers were without midfielder Josh Sheehan and winger Lloyd Isgrove for Tuesday's clash with Wycombe, and the pair are expected to continue spells on the sidelines due to injury issues.

Meanwhile, experienced forward Eoin Doyle recently left the club, and Dion Charles could again be trusted to lead the line with the support of key winger Oladapo Afolayan.

Ipswich will likely remain without Aristote Nsiala, Jon Nolan, Rekeem Harper and Bersant Celina, as they all continue to battle through injuries.

James Norwood will keep his place at the top end of the pitch, having found the net in both of McKenna's opening two games at the helm.

The new boss has an abundance of attacking options to choose from, and Conor Chaplin, Macauley Bonne and Sone Aluko will all battle for starting spots with Sam Morsy and Lee Evans expected to handle business in the engine room.

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Dixon; Fossey, Santos, Aimson, John; Williams, Lee; Bakayoko, Delfouneso, Afolayan; Charles

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:
Walton; Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson; Burns, Morsy, Evans, Penney; Aluko; Bonne, Norwood

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We say: Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Ipswich Town

The contrasting form of these two sides should only point towards an away victory for Ipswich on Saturday.

While Evatt's men will be desperate for a result, we see the Tractor Boys' confident and quality-filled squad having enough to leave with all three points.

Top tip

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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bolton Wanderers win with a probability of 39.56%. A win for Ipswich Town had a probability of 34.83% and a draw had a probability of 25.6%.

The most likely scoreline for a Bolton Wanderers win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.24%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.6%) and 2-0 (6.54%). The likeliest Ipswich Town win was 0-1 (8.56%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.13%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 6.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bolton Wanderers would win this match.