Bolton take on Blackburn tomorrow in what is Wanderers’ final pre-season friendly of the summer.
It’s a landmark day for fans too, who will be allowed into the University of Bolton Stadium for a match for the first time since 29th February 2020. That perhaps feels bigger than the match itself.
Coronavirus though is still around, which has been on Ian Evatt’s mind in the build-up to the fixture. Periods of isolation, as well as injuries, have hampered preparations for the new season, Ricardo Santos’ injury will possibly keep him out tomorrow, and Xavier Amaechi’s injury seems bad enough that we will end up going back into the transfer market, but anyone who does play will have a shout of playing themselves into the starting lineup against MK Dons.
Blackburn on the surface should be our biggest test pre-season. They are a decent Championship side but morale around Ewood Park doesn’t seem too good at the moment. They’ve also had serious injury problems, with Bradley Dack a big miss for them, and youngsters filling up the bench though.
They do have some decent players who should be involved though – Adam Armstrong is a changed man from the makeshift winger Phil Parkinson used him as, while Ben Brereton should also be involved after accepting a Chile call-up for the Copa America and becoming a cult hero in the process. Rovers, despite their problems, managed a 1-1 draw against Leeds during the week.
It should be a tough examination then, but we beat Preston the other week, and for the first time in ages, we’re in front of a home crowd.