Bolton Wanderers v Peterborough United: Big match preview

From now until the next international break in November, he may have no choice.

The midweek defeat at St Andrew’s lasted a unique 90 minutes in itself, with the Bolton boss turning his possession-based philosophy on its head and surrendering much of his team’s attacking intentions to the final stages.

Had the plan worked and a point saved in an improved second half, the conversation leading into this weekend’s meeting with Peterborough United might have been more positive.

Evatt briefly raised the argument against his lack of ‘Plan B’ in his post-match assessment at St Andrew’s, citing the first hour of the match as an example of his team being able to pull back and defend when necessary. But applauding the success of his game plan has been a tough sell, especially for those who feel the team selection was somewhat secondary to a club with its own automatic promotion ambitions.

Based purely on the evidence presented since the start of the season, Birmingham are on their own. If we are to group Bolton with the other 23 clubs, there is now only one automatic place up for grabs and Evatt’s side must show they are the best of the rest.

There are three league and two cup games remaining until the next break and many supporters need to be convinced that this side can do what last season’s group could not.

Common wisdom dictates that the results against the “top six rivals” are true Wanderers have stumbled in the past. The club’s record last season was: Won two, drew six, lost two; a season earlier, Bolton won three, drew four and lost three. In two campaigns that ended in play-off defeat, the Whites have won five of twenty matches against the teams listed in the rankings as their direct competitors.

Peterborough United have been one of those opponents over the past two seasons, and perhaps the one Evatt has had the most success against.

After the double against Posh in 2022/23, including a memorable 5-0 win at London Road, two hectic draws followed last season, the latter of which set up the play-off stretch that would ultimately end in disappointment at Wembley.

Posh, like Bolton, have had a disappointing start, with their open attack often hampered by a leaky defence. No team in the EFL has scored more goals than Darren Ferguson’s side in 2024, but predictability has been their downfall.

They led 2-1 in Birmingham at the end of last month, but lost the match 3-2. Since then, heavy defeats at Wigan Athletic and Wycombe Wanderers have followed, but if their young, fast attack fires, results can still be good. exciting to watch, as was Blackpool, who were beaten 5-1 in midweek.

Two of the goals on Tuesday evening came from Joel Randall, a player for whom Wanderers made two big bids in the summer. The attacking midfielder was seen as the ideal man to give Bolton a ‘new look’, but Posh owner Darragh MacAnthony publicly announced he did not want to do business with a club he considered a promotion rival.

Neither club has done much to justify MacAnthony’s lofty definition in the first quarter of this season, but both will still harbor ambitions of being in the top six by the time the next international break in November arrives.

Wanderers head to Stevenage on Tuesday and then travel to Stockport County after the FA Cup weekend, all with the aim of ensuring the league table is easier to read during the break.