St Mirren v Bolton,
Friendly, St Mirren Park
Saturday 7th July, 12.30pm kick-off
Bolton start their pre-season run of fixtures tomorrow with a game at newly-promoted Scottish Premiership outfit St Mirren. Wanderers have already been up there for a few days to fit in some training as well. It’ll be the only pre-season game to be played outside of England, after rumours of a trip to somewhere a bit more exotic than Paisley were quashed.
Team news
The size of our squad currently is well known and has been extensively debated – so tomorrow’s side will be heavily complimented by youngsters and trialists. Expect plenty of substitutions too. St Mirren have a competitive game next week when the League Cup kicks off, but they are also expected to experiment, being their first friendly too.
Ones to watch
Our triallists will be most intriguing simply for the mystery factor and whether any of them would be worth signing. For St Mirren, 19-year-old midfielder Kyle Magennis is highly rated, while Jeff King will face an almost immediate reunion with Wanderers.
Stats and facts
Bolton return to Scotland after playing a couple of games there last summer. 12 months ago they registered 2-1 wins over both Dundee and Arbroath.
Over the last two pre-seasons with Phil Parkinson in charge, Bolton have won 6 of their 13 friendlies. Last season they won their first three, but then could only muster goalless draws against Fylde and Stockport while losing to Fleetwood and Stoke.
Referee
Bobby Madden will take charge. He has 10 years of experience in the Scottish game and has managed international fixtures, so he seems a big a name as the Scots could offer.
Prediction
St Mirren 1-2 Bolton. It’s a friendly though, so I don’t care.