A cross-city Greater Manchester derby is at hand and Bolton Wanderers will welcome Salford City as they begin the defence of their EFL Trophy win last year.
The Northern Section Group E match gets underway with Salford already on a high themselves having smashed their way through Preston North End and Leeds in the EFL Cup on penalties already this year.
Key Takeaways
· Bolton are the reigning champions in the competition, battering Plymouth Argyle 4-0 in the final last spring
· Just 10 miles separate the two areas, the beginnings of a rivalry following Salford's rise and Bolton’s Demis in recent demise could spark a new local rivalry
· Salford have also won the competition, winning the 2019-20 edition on penalties to defeat reigning champions Portsmouth
Bolton and Salford know that they can sting the other, with Salford having already claimed greater scalps this season and Bolton knowing that silverware is at long last in the cabinet after many years.
Bolton Wanderers Form
The hosts got off to a terrific start this season, defeating Lincoln City, Cheltenham Town and then Fleetwood town. Then, the reality of how difficult this season would prove for them set in. A 4-0 thumping to Wigan Athletic humbled Ian Evatt’s team before they were knocked out of the EFL Cup to Middlesborough.
Bolton then returned to winning ways in the league, beating Derby County 2-1 after the Ram’s were reduced to ten men.
Salford City Form
Although possessing great prowess in the cup this year, it has come as a detriment to Salford’s league form. They have won just one of their previous 5 matches, the most recent of these defeats was in the weekend just gone; a 1-0 loss to Morecambe.
They are currently 17th in the English League Two and knowing that they have cup pedigree, they could strive for victory here and end their shaky start to the campaign.
Head-to-Head
The home side certainly have the edge when we look at the previous results when they have faced Salford they’ve won all 5 previous encounters, including a 5-1 victory in the EFL Cup last year. The record will need to be put straight for Salford to end this dismal run.
Team News
Bolton will be able to call upon the majority of their first team on Tuesday but will challenge Salford without Dion Charles and Josh Sheehan being called up to the Northern Irish and Welsh national sides and Zac Ainsworth joining the Welsh U21 setup.
Salford have an international call-up of their own, with Jamaica calling upon the services of Adrian Mariappa. They will travel without Declan John who cannot face his parent club while on loan and Matty Lund is suspended following his dismissal against Morecambe.
Key Players
Salford’s Theo Vassell is Mariappa’s most likely deputy in defence, and his athleticism will be needed as Salford will likely spend the majority of this tie on the back foot.
For Bolton, the experience of Cameron Jerome cannot be underestimated and we could expect him to be used as a super sub where his power and positional ability will be useful in the latter stages of the game
Final Thoughts
Salford have proved themselves tricky customers in the competition so far, but Bolton’s know-how and firepower in the middle should likely see their rivals off.
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