League One is very much full of massive clubs that believe they should be playing at a higher level. One of those is Bolton Wanderers, who take a trip down to fellow promotion rivals Plymouth Argyle this weekend.
Argyle have had a solid start to the season as they go in search of promotion, but who will prevail at Home Park?
Plymouth Argyle and Bolton Wanderers Go Head-to-Head
A Pair of Promotion Hopefuls
Just over a decade ago now, May 2012, Bolton Wanderers were relegated from the Premier League. They have been out of the top tier since and as well as struggling on the field, they’ve dealt with financial issues off of it. Both teams come Saturday have experienced administration but are back on the up now.
Just one of Bolton’s opening five League One fixtures has ended in defeat. They lost to Sheffield Wednesday in the last outing, but prior to that, they accumulated eight points. Starting a season with a trip to Portman Road to face Ipswich Town and then hosting Wycombe Wanderers certainly isn’t easy, Aaron Morley and Kyle Dempsey scoring two-a-piece across these games.
🗣️ "𝙒𝙚'𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙪𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙬." 💬
📺 Ian Evatt gave his assessment of this afternoon's defeat to @swfc.#BWFC 🐘🏰
— Bolton Wanderers (@OfficialBWFC) August 20, 2022
Argyle in the meantime, have been even more topsy-turvy. In all competitions, there have been three wins and three losses. They may have lost to Peterborough United in the Carabao Cup but they bounced back and saw off Grant McCann’s team just days later in the league. Conceding five at the Valley last week was a low point but the win away at Forest Green Rovers last time out was a true sign of their resolve.
Argyle Dominated This Fixture Last Season
Plymouth Argyle and Bolton Wanderers have very rarely crossed paths. Due to the latter’s heritage in English football, they have often been leagues above quite literally. Last season though, in both League One meetings, the Pilgrims prevailed.
In October of last year, with Ryan Lowe still at the helm, Argyle surged into an early lead and picked up all three points. Brendan Galloway and Conor Grant found the back of the net in the first fifteen minutes before Ryan Broom, who assisted the second, putting the icing on the cake at the death.
Steven Schumacher was then in charge for the reverse fixture and he picked up where Lowe left off. Young goalkeeper Michael Cooper starred whilst it was Macauley Gillesphey who scored the only goal of the game at the University of Bolton Stadium. Even before that, in the FA Cup in 2019 one goal separated the pair in the first round.
Who to Watch for Bolton Wanderers
There are a number of names amongst the Bolton Wanderers ranks that are notable. Elias Kachunga was a Championship regular at times with Huddersfield Town whilst Dion Charles snubbed a number of clubs to make the move over from Accrington Stanley.
Focusing on those regular in Ian Evatt’s league XI though and as previously mentioned, Morley and Dempsey have starred on the goals front. Along with them, in attacking third, there’s former West Ham United man Oladapo Afolayan and recently capped Sierra Leone international Amadou Bakayoko.
Steven Schumacher previews this weekend's @SkyBetLeagueOne tie against Bolton Wanderers.
In partnership with @MBSW.#pafc
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) August 25, 2022
On the flip side, loan duo Finn Azaz and Bali Mumba have been at the fore for Argyle this term. The pair both notched a goal and an assist away at Forest Green in their last outing. Azaz from Aston Villa and Mumba from Norwich City are on a different level, and Bolton Wanderers will have to be particularly weary of them. Azaz’s teammate Danny Mayor spoke very highly of him ahead of this fixture: “He’s really clever, and is easy to find. He picks up good positions and is a great finisher. Three goals is an unbelievable start.”
In front at the break. 💪
Keep those standards up, Greens. 💚#pafc pic.twitter.com/rBHEavc1uu
— Plymouth Argyle FC (@Argyle) August 13, 2022
