This Week's Opposition: Bolton Wanderers

A win for Pompey at Bolton this weekend will guarantee promotion to the Championship, though they’re set to have a tough test in front of them.

The Trotters are 9 points behind the Blues with just 4 games remaining, so victory for John Mousinho’s side at the Toughsheet Community Stadium will put them 12 adrift with just 3 matches to play.

We’ve taken a closer look into the challenge ahead, a side looking to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive and prevent Portsmouth from achieving their goal.

MANAGER

Bolton are led by 42-year-old Ian Evatt.

Evatt was appointed by the club in July 2020 following a successful spell in charge of Barrow, who he guided to the National League title and subsequently a return to the Football League just a few months prior, thanks to the points per game system that was put in place due to COVID.

Since becoming Bolton boss, Evatt has taken the club from League Two to League One and has managed to take 112 wins from 219 competitive games in charge.

ONE TO WATCH

Centre forward Aaron Collins is somebody to keep tabs on this weekend.

The 26-year-old has been with the club since signing a 3-and-a-half year deal at the end of the January transfer window, having played the start of the season for Bristol Rovers.

Collins has made 2 assists and scored 6 goals for The Trotters so far.

This will mark the 3rd time that Collins will face the Blues this season. He wears the number 28 shirt for Bolton.

TOP SCORER

Bolton’s top scorer at this stage of the season is 28-year-old Dion Charles.

The forward has contributed to 13 league goals so far from 29 appearances.

Charles has also scored 4 goals in other competitions and wears the number 10 shirt.

CURRENT FORM

With 4 games remaining, Ian Evatt’s side occupy 3rd place in League One.

So far, The Trotters have accumulated 81 points from 42 matches, winning 24 and drawing on 9 occasions.

Bolton are the 2nd highest scorers in the division, having found the back of the net 78 times since the start of August.

In the last 5 games they have claimed 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. Bolton’s most recent match ended in a 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers.

This is it - Can Pompey secure a victory and, in doing so, win promotion back up to the Championship after 12 years away?

You do not want to miss a second of the action as Portsmouth prepare for their biggest fixture in well over a decade... Connor Moseley, Jake Smith and Jay Sadler provide full coverage LIVE from the Toughsheet Community Stadium, this Saturday (April 13th) afternoon from 2pm.

Kick-off: 3pm!