Played two. Lost two. Played four, lost four if you count the cups.
Not the greatest start to the season for Bolton Wanderers then, and tomorrow we take on a Newport County side that beat Championship opposition in the Carabao Cup midweek. There’s already a bit of disquiet about how things have gone so far. There have also been elements of what Ian Evatt is trying to achieve – last week at Colchester we had the best possession, passes and pass completion rates of any team in the division that day. But you don’t pick up points and get promoted for that. Let’s hope we can get firing this weekend.
🗣️ '𝙒𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙜𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙣.' 💬
🎥 Ian Evatt spoke to https://t.co/oVVl0dtnLo ahead of tomorrow's @SkyBetLeagueTwo fixture against @NewportCounty.#BWFC 🐘🏰 pic.twitter.com/kik47pPsek
— Bolton Wanderers (@OfficialBWFC) September 25, 2020
Team news
Antoni Sarcevic and Shaun Miller will both be out, with next week’s away game at Harrogate (which is probably going to be in Doncaster) the more realistic target. Dennis Politic and Muhammadu Fall are still out as well. Newport have no new injury concerns.
Previously…
This will be our first game against the men from South Wales since April 1988. We won 6-0 at Burnden Park that day – I’d take half that scoreline. Or a third. Or a sixth.
The opposition
Size doesn’t matter for Newport County. They’ve tested their mettle, and sometimes have beaten some far bigger names then themselves in the cup competitions, and were a playoff final away from League One two seasons ago. As well as a Carabao Cup run, where they’ll now face Newcastle midweek for a place in the quarter final, they’ve managed four points from their opening two games. Ryan Taylor, a striker signed from Plymouth this summer, has a goal in each game.
Prediction
2-1 to Newport, I have faith we’ll score but can’t trust our defence yet. Hopefully the cup run will distract them a bit…