League One rivals Bolton Wanderers and Barnsley will lock horns at the University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with a spot in the second round of the FA Cup on offer to both sides.

The home side have won the FA Cup on four previous occasions, while Barnsley lifted the trophy back in 1911-12 after being finalists for the first time in 1909-10.

Match preview

Bolton saw a four-game unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end last Saturday as they suffered a 3-1 home loss to Oxford United in League One, with the result leaving them in sixth position in the table.

Ian Evatt's side have picked up 27 points from their opening 16 matches of the 2022-23 campaign to sit inside the playoff positions, but they are 10 points behind second-placed Ipswich Town, albeit with a game in hand.

The Trotters, who won the FA Cup in 1923, 1926, 1929 and 1958, finished ninth in League One last season and are bidding to secure a return to the Championship for the 2022-23 campaign.

The FA Cup is not seen as a priority competition for Bolton this season, with next weekend's contest against Cambridge United in the league arguably a much bigger match for the club, but a run in this competition could help them when it comes to their promotion fight.

Bolton are unbeaten against Barnsley in all competitions since an FA Cup clash in January 1998, but the points were shared in a goalless draw in the league when they locked horns in the middle of October.

Barnsley, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 win over Forest Green Rovers in League One last weekend, with the result leaving them in eighth position in the table.

The visitors have collected 24 points from their opening 16 games of the campaign, which has left them just three points behind their opponents in this contest.

The Tykes, who finished bottom of the Championship last season to drop into the third tier, won the FA Cup back in 1912, recording a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Bramall Lane in Sheffield.

Barnsley were beaten by Huddersfield Town in last season's competition, while the club will also believe that they have bigger fish to fry this season, as they bid to earn promotion back to the Championship.

Michael Duff's side have only won two of their last six matches in all competitions during a disappointing run, but the victory over Forest Green last time out would have boosted the confidence in the camp.

Team News

Bolton manager Evatt is set to shuffle his pack for this match, with Owen Beck and George Thomason, who were unused substitutes against Oxford United, set to come into the side.

The Trotters are expected to have some youngsters on their bench, but it is likely to be a relatively experienced starting side, with Dion Charles potentially featuring at centre-forward.

Kyle Dempsey and Kieran Sadlier were among those to feature as substitutes in the team's last league fixture, and the duo should come in for starts on Saturday afternoon.

Barnsley boss Duff, meanwhile, will make changes to the side that took to the field for the first whistle against Forest Green, with goalkeeper Jack Walton among those expected to feature in the first XI.

Slobodan Tedic, Robbie Cundy, Adam Phillips, Joshua Martin and Fabio Jalo are also likely to come in for starts on Saturday afternoon.

Duff could also hand opportunities to a number of younger players, with 20-year-old Ziyad Larkeche again expected to be in the squad for the clash with Bolton.

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Jones, Beck, Johnston; Bradley, Thomason, Dempsey, Afolayan; Sadlier; Charles, Kachunga

Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Walton; Edwards, Andersen, Kitching; Cundy, Phillips, Connell, Jalo, Cadden; Martin, Tedic

We say: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Barnsley

There is not an awful lot between these two sides in terms of quality, and we are expecting a close match on Saturday afternoon. Barnsley certainly have the quality to triumph, but we just a have a feeling that Bolton will progress to the second round of the competition courtesy of a narrow success.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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