On the opening day of the League One season, Bolton Wanderers will play host to Lincoln City on Saturday.
Following their playoff disappointment last term, the hosts will be keen to get off the mark with a three-point haul on home turf.
Match preview
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Bolton Wanderers head into the new League One season hoping to improve on last term, in which they fell just short of promotion through the playoffs.
Under the management of Ian Evatt, the Trotters enjoyed an impressive campaign, eventually finishing fifth with 81 points from their 46 matches, booking a playoff semi-final tie with fourth-placed Barnsley as a result.
They would play host to the Reds in the first leg and draw 1-1, as Dion Charles drew them level in the 67th minute soon after Nicky Cadden opened the scoring for the visitors, but they were then beaten 1-0 away from home, with Liam Kitching netting the only goal of the game to condemn the Trotters to another season in England's third tier.
Following that playoff disappointment, the Lancashire outfit undertook a busy pre-season schedule in which they won five of their seven games and played out two draws, including triumphs over Bradford City, Salford City and West Bromwich Albion and stalemates with Chester City and Everton.
Following that strong foundation, and with the desire to go one better this season and finally end their wait for a return to the Championship, Bolton will be keen to start on the front foot with a victory on Saturday as they hope to establish themselves in League One's leading pack.
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Their visitors head into Saturday's trip on the back of a busy pre-season of their own, in their bid to improve on last season's 11th-placed finish in League One.
Lincoln City began the 2022-23 season, their fourth consecutive campaign in England's third tier, under the new management of Mark Kennedy, and they enjoyed a relatively positive term, eventually finishing 11th with 62 points on the board from their 46 outings, 10 more than they managed in the previous year.
Following back-to-back defeats to Burton Albion and Morecambe at the end of April, ultimately costing them a top-10 spot, the Imps would cap off the season in positive fashion with a 1-0 victory at home to Shrewsbury Town on the final day, courtesy of Matty Virtue's goal 18 minutes from time.
They would then return for pre-season in early July and begin with draws against Stockport County and King's Lynn Town, before scoring consecutive wins over Boston United, Harrogate Town and Crewe Alexandra and finishing with 2-0 and 3-0 defeats to Grimsby Town and Rotherham United respectively.
With their extensive preparations now complete, Lincoln will turn their focus to making a positive start to the League One season, and they will hope to take a major scalp on their travels in the curtain-raiser.
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Team News
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While Bolton Wanderers do notably head into the new season without star goalkeeper James Trafford, who enjoyed an impressive loan spell from Manchester City last season, as well as the likes of MJ Williams, Lloyd Isgrove, Kieran Lee and Elias Kachunga, Evatt has been able to bolster his squad too, with Nathan Baxter arriving from Chelsea to take over between the sticks.
Their starting XI in the final friendly last weekend, a 4-3 victory over West Bromwich Albion, could be the one we see on Saturday, with fellow new arrivals Josh Dacres-Cogley and Dan Nlundulu likely to start in defence and attack respectively, while Paris Maghoma will also hope to break in from the outset after joining on loan from Brentford.
Nlundulu will likely battle with Victor Adeboyejo to start up front alongside star man Dion Charles, who netted 17 League One goals for the Trotters and 21 in all competitions last season.
Similarly to their hosts, Lincoln City's starting XI could be largely based on that from their final friendly at home to Rotherham United last weekend, with Adam Jackson set to join new club captain Paudie O'Connor in the middle of the defence.
Ben House could again lead the line, although summer signing Tyler Walker will also hope to break in, with Ethan Hamilton having also arrived from Accrington Stanley to challenge for spots in the centre.
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Jones, Santos, Ashworth; Dacres-Cogley, Thomason, Sheehan, Williams; Dempsey; Nlundulu, Charles
Lincoln City possible starting lineup:
Jensen; Roughan, O'Connor, Jackson, Brown; Erhahon, Sorensen, Hamilton; Hackett, House, Mandroiu
We say: Bolton Wanderers 2-0 Lincoln City
Bolton do boast slightly more quality throughout the squad than their visitors, and with home advantage and the need to get up and running quickly in their promotion bid, we fancy the Trotters to take all three points in their curtain-raiser.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
