Lancashire rivals Bolton Wanderers and Fleetwood Town clash in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday, with a place in the knockout phase up for grabs.
Only the top two in northern section Group D can go through, and second-placed Bolton lead their visitors by one point heading into the group-stage finale.
Match preview
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After beating Barrow 3-2 in their opening fixture, before drawing 1-1 with leaders Aston Villa Under-21s and losing a subsequent penalty shootout, Bolton Wanderers have their EFL Trophy destiny within their own hands.
Victory or a draw would secure at least second place in Group D, sealing progress to the knockout rounds, but stopping a recent downturn will be upmost in Ian Evatt's thoughts.
Since finishing October with back-to-back wins over Peterborough United and Stevenage, his team have succumbed to League Two high-flyers Walsall in the FA Cup first round - losing to a stoppage-time goal at Bescot - and taken a big beating in Stockport.
At the weekend, Bolton's fellow promotion hopefuls and Greater Manchester rivals thumped Wanderers 5-0, so Evatt's side have slipped to 10th in the League One table, seven points behind second-placed Birmingham City.
They will therefore be keen to sign off for the international break by getting back on track against Fleetwood, who have recently shown signs of revival.
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Ronan Coughlan's early penalty was sufficient to earn Fleetwood a precious 1-0 home win over Bradford City on Saturday afternoon, despite being their sole shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.
The Cod Army's top scorer converted an eighth-minute spot kick after Matty Virtue had been fouled in the Bradford box, ultimately securing a first win in any competition for over a month.
Before exiting the FA Cup at the hands of Reading, Charlie Adam's men had posted consecutive League Two draws, and picking up five points from the last nine available has taken them into the top half of the table.
Just three points shy of the playoff places, Fleetwood can now take a break from the long slog in England's fourth tier, with another win on Tuesday evening sure to book their spot in the EFL Trophy's knockout phase.
In Group D so far, they have lost a five-goal thriller against Aston Villa's development squad and defeated Barrow 3-0, so beating Bolton would guarantee a top-two finish.
Team News
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Likely to rotate his resources in any case, Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt will be without three players called up by their countries for UEFA Nations League duty: Wales midfielder Josh Sheehan, plus Northern Ireland duo Dion Charles and Luke Southwood.
Charles has found the net on six occasions in League One this season, but either John McAtee or Victor Adeboyejo should deputise in the EFL Trophy, with support from Aaron Collins.
Both Gethin Jones and Jordi Osei-Tutu are now available following injury layoffs, but George Thomason, Carlos Mendes Gomes, Eoin Toal and Chris Forino are not due back until after the break.
Fleetwood have also had a goalkeeper selected for this month's Nations League finale, as David Harrington has been added to Craig Bellamy's Wales squad as cover.
Defender Harrison Holgate was recently ruled out for several months after undergoing surgery on a ruptured ACL, increasing the visitors' injury crisis: Zech Medley, Brendan Wiredu, Mackenzie Hunt and Rhys Bennett are all on the treatment table.
Meanwhile, Huddersfield Town loanee Kian Harratt scored twice in the win over EFL Trophy win over Barrow last month and could start up front again.
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Hutchinson; Cogley, Santos, Johnston; Matheson, Williams, Matete, Schon; Lolos; Collins, Adeboyejo
Fleetwood Town possible starting lineup:
Lynch; Hughes, Potter, Bolton; Broom, Mayor, Bonds, Virtue, Patterson; Odubeko, Harratt
We say: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Fleetwood Town
Home advantage and a determination to put things right after recent results should see Bolton claim both victory and a place in the next stage.
As Fleetwood are burdened by several absences, they will not mind too much if they can be left to concentrate on their League Two campaign.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
