Still in with a fighting chance of avoiding relegation, Doncaster Rovers welcome Bolton Wanderers to the Keepmoat Stadium for Friday's League One clash.

The hosts eased to a 2-0 win to relegate Crewe Alexandra last weekend, while the Trotters played out a 1-1 draw at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

Match preview

Doncaster Rovers' Joe Dodoo scores their first goal on January 18, 2022 © Reuters

The basement battle between Doncaster and Crewe Alexandra had major implications at the bottom end of the League One table, with Gary McSheffrey's side boosting their survival bid while condemning the Railwaymen to League Two football for the 2022-23 season.

Crewe Alexandra simply had to win to avoid being the first side in the top four divisions to suffer relegation this season, but Doncaster quickly went ahead through left-back Tommy Rowe before Josh Martin wrapped up a pivotal three points just after the restart.

One team has already bitten the dust, and Doncaster are still very close to joining them in the fourth tier for the 2022-23 season, with McSheffrey's side remaining 23rd in the rankings and five points off the safety of 20th spot with only four games to go.

The hosts' League One destiny is therefore out of their own hands ahead of clashes with Shrewsbury Town, Burton Albion and Oxford United before the season is up, but ending a six-game run without a win and five-game run without a goal is a cause for optimism ahead of the Good Friday fixtures.

Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt approaches referee Samuel Barrott at half time on April 2, 2022 © Reuters

Draws have been the theme for Bolton Wanderers since the start of April, as Ian Evatt witnessed his side play out a third 1-1 stalemate in succession in the third tier when Sheffield Wednesday paid a visit to the University of Bolton Stadium.

Bolton were on the brink of defeat when Jordan Storey drew first blood for the Owls in the second half, but with 90 minutes on the clock, MJ Williams chose the ideal time to score his first goal of the season and rescue a point for his mid-table side.

Any hopes of Bolton pushing for a playoff place are now dead in the water, but Evatt will still hope to see his 11th-placed outfit consolidate their hold on a top-half place, and clashes with Accrington Stanley, Cheltenham Town and Fleetwood Town give the Trotters ideal opportunities to do just that.

The visitors head into Good Friday having lost just two of their last 10 in League One - as well as taking seven points from the last nine on offer away from home - so Evatt's side ought to be confident of making lightning strike twice after securing a 3-0 victory over Doncaster back in November.

Doncaster Rovers League One form:

Bolton Wanderers League One form:

Team News

Bolton Wanderers' Jon Dadi Bodvarsson celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on April 2, 2022 © Reuters

Doncaster lost right-back Kyle Knoyle to an unspecified injury on the 71-minute mark against Crewe Alexandra, with Ollie Younger waiting in the wings should he be needed to deputise.

McSheffrey also continues to make do without Fejiri Okenabirhie, Tom Anderson and Kieran Agard for the final few games of the season, and Jon Taylor is out of hospital following an illness but still has his ankle injury to contend with.

Barring the potential inclusion of Younger if Knoyle is not passed fit to feature, McSheffrey should see no reason to alter a winning formula after a professional showing last time out.

As for Bolton, Evatt is worried about the prospect of Ricardo Santos missing the rest of the season with a hamstring issue, while Oladapo Afolayan and Kyle Dempsey have injuries in the same area.

Afolayan was able to make the bench against Wednesday, where Declan John was also forced off with hamstring tightness and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson was withdrawn due to back pain.

Goalkeeper James Trafford is one of a number of Bolton players to have come down with illness recently, and Evatt could therefore consider bringing Joel Dixon back in between the posts.

Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:
Mitchell; Younger, Williams, Olowu, Rowe; Clayton, Bostock, Smith; Barlow, Griffiths, Martin

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Dixon; Jones, Aimston, Johnston, Gordon; Kachunga, Williams, Morley, Sadlier; Charles, Bakayoko

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We say: Doncaster Rovers 0-2 Bolton Wanderers

Despite working with a somewhat depleted squad as injuries and illnesses take their toll, a resilient Bolton will seek to end the season strongly and have that golden touch away from home right now.

Doncaster can take the positives from their recent win over Crewe Alexandra, but the visit of Bolton will prove a much sterner test for a side who had previously gone 450 minutes without scoring, and such profligacy could come back to haunt them here.

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 51.3%. A draw had a probability of 25.4% and a win for Doncaster Rovers had a probability of 23.31%.

The most likely scoreline for a Bolton Wanderers win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.47%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.76%) and 1-2 (9.41%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.03%), while for a Doncaster Rovers win it was 1-0 (7.69%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Bolton Wanderers would win this match.