Two sides with ambitions of gaining promotion into the EFL Championship come together on Friday afternoon when playoff-hunting Stevenage take on a Bolton Wanderers side hoping to finish in the top two of the League One table.
The hosts come into this game in seventh place and just a point behind sixth-placed Oxford United, while the visitors are just four points behind second-placed Derby County and have the advantage of a game in hand still to play.
Match preview
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After regaining their League One status for the first time since the 2013-14 season with a second-placed finish last year, Stevenage are now looking to earn yet another promotion to make it back-to-back steps up the English divisions and reach the Championship for the first time since their formation in 1976.
They come into this match in seventh place and just a point behind sixth-placed Oxford United, who they are set to play in the penultimate game of the season.
While Oxford have the perceived easier opponent in Shrewsbury Town, Stevenage will be playing third-placed Bolton, who they have lost to in all of the three meetings that these two sides have had.
If they are to get anything from this game and continue their push for a playoff spot, then Steve Evans's side must improve on their form in recent weeks which has seen them fail to win any of the last five league games they have played.
The biggest problem for Stevenage in recent weeks has been their lack of goals scored, netting five in their last eight games with two of these coming in the final 10 minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw with bottom-of-the-table Carlisle United.
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Bolton, on the other hand, have been scoring goals for fun this campaign with 71 in 39 matches, the second-highest out of all 24 teams in the division.
While they have continued to score plenty of goals in recent weeks, their results have seen a slight dip throughout February and March as they have failed to convert draws into victories.
Of the 12 outings across these two months, five of them have ended all-square, which is more than half of the draws that Bolton have recorded across the entirety of the league campaign.
With Derby and Portsmouth both gaining plenty of victories in recent weeks, including the Rams recording a crucial victory over the Trotters to extend their lead over the third-placed side, Bolton must start taking all the points from their matches if they are to catch up with the leading two and earn automatic promotion into the Championship for the first time in five years.
Team News
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Stevenage may be boosted with the return of 17-goal striker Jamie Reid in this game after he missed the draw with Carlisle due to his involvement in Northern Ireland's international friendly games, where he netted against Romania.
Jake Forster-Caskey will be a doubt for the upcoming match after he received a knock during the build-up for the previous outing that resulted in the midfielder being taken off in the 15th minute.
As for Bolton, they are going through somewhat of an injury crisis in recent weeks with several key players on the treatment table.
Both of their top scorers for the season will be missing for this tie, Victor Adeboyejo due to a hamstring injury and Dion Charles, who has been sidelined since the middle of February.
Carlos Mendes Gomes, Dan N'Lundulu and Nathan Baxter will all also be unavailable for boss Ian Evatt's team selection.
Stevenage possible starting lineup:
MacGillivray; Freeman, Sweeney, N. Thompson, Burns, Butler; L. Thompson, Roberts, Vancooten; List, Hemmings
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Coleman; Jones, Santos, Toal; Sheehan; Dacres-Cogley, Thomason, Maghoma, Ogbeta; Collins, Jerome
We say: Stevenage 0-2 Bolton Wanderers
While Bolton have been struggling for victories in recent outings Stevenage have also been going through their own difficulties, leaving the visitors as the favourites to take the three points.
Stevenage have never recorded either a draw or victory against Bolton, and we expect this to continue with a Trotters victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
