Preview: Bolton Wanderers vs Bradford City - prediction, team news, lineups

Bolton Wanderers and Bradford City will kick off their battle for a place in the League One playoff final on Saturday, when they square off in their semi-final first leg at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

The two teams finished just two points apart in fifth and fourth spots respectively in the League One table, with Saturday's visitors leapfrogging their opponents and earning a home second leg with a final-day victory.

Match preview

Bolton Wanderers head into their third League One playoff campaign in the last four years in a bid to return to the Championship next season for the first time since 2019.

In their first full season under the management of Steven Schumacher, they have returned to the top six by earning 75 points from their 46 matches, winning 19 of those while only champions Lincoln City suffered fewer than their nine defeats.

The Trotters did fail to round off the regular season in strong form and build momentum for the playoffs, though, having won just one of their last six games and earned six points, only ending one point above seventh place as a result, having played out consecutive draws heading into the final day.

Those were enough to guarantee a top-six finish, at least, with the latter coming away at Bradford City thanks to Johnny Kenny's opener, before they hosted playoff-chasing Luton Town on the final day and suffered a 3-2 loss, despite leading through Jordi Osei-Tutu and Ibrahim Cissoko, as Hakeem Odoffin levelled for the visitors and Shayden Morris snatched a 94th-minute winner.

Now aiming to put that slow end to the campaign behind them and go one better than their last playoff attempt in 2024, which ended in a final defeat at Wembley, Bolton Wanderers will hope to make the most of home advantage on Saturday and take a lead into next week's away leg against a side they have drawn with twice this season and beat 3-0 at home in the EFL Trophy.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head into their second contest with Bolton in a matter of weeks, having pipped the hosts to fourth spot late in the regular season.

In their first term back in England's third tier after their League Two promotion, Bradford City continued to grow under Graham Alexander, earning a playoff place at the first attempt by picking up 22 wins and 77 points from their 46 outings.

The Bantams also failed to nail down their top-six place until late in the run-in, though, having headed into the final two matches on the back of a loss and two draws, before coming back to draw 1-1 at home to Bolton Wanderers thanks to Kayden Jackson's 80th-minute leveller, completing a pair of league draws after a goalless stalemate in Lancashire and the 3-0 cup defeat.

Then needing a point to guarantee their playoff place on the final day, Alexander's men visited relegation-threatened Exeter City and made an important return to winning ways, having led by two through Jackson and Antoni Sarcevic heading into the final 10 minutes and seen out a 2-1 triumph after Josh Magennis halved the hosts' deficit in injury time.

Now heading into another playoff campaign, having been unsuccessful in their last three across League One and League Two, Bradford City will bid to make a positive start away from home at the weekend before hosting Bolton in the second leg next week with a Wembley spot on the line.

Bolton Wanderers League One form:

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Bradford City League One form:

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Team News

Bolton Wanderers are set to remain without midfielder Ethan Erhahon and attackers Corey Blackett-Taylor and Marcus Forss for Saturday's first leg due to ongoing injuries.

Sam Dalby, who has netted 11 league goals this season, is likely to return, though, having missed the final two games of the regular season, and he will battle with Mason Burstow to lead the line.

Cissoko, who has scored twice in the last three games, Johnny Kenny and Amario Cozier-Duberry should continue behind the preferred lone front man, while Ruben Rodrigues should again get the nod alongside mainstay Josh Sheehan in the engine room in Erhahon's absence.

Bradford City should field a similar starting XI to their final-day away win over Exeter City, with attackers Tyreik Wright and Bobby Pointon remaining confined to the treatment room.

The Bantams still have competition in attack, though, with Nick Powell, Wil Swan and Stephen Humphrys all hoping to come in from the start, but Kayden Jackson should again get the nod to lead the line having scored in consecutive games heading into the playoffs.

Sarcevic is a key man in support, having netted his 11th league goal of the season last time out, while Max Power and Jenson Metcalfe will continue in front of the back three of Curtis Tilt, Aden Baldwin and Joe Wright.

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Bonham; Osei-Tutu, Toal, Forino-Joseph, Conway; Sheehan, Rodrigues; Cozier-Duberry, Kenny, Cissoko; Dalby

Bradford City possible starting lineup:

Walker; Wright, Baldwin, Tilt; Neufville, Metcalfe, Power, Touray; Sarcevic, Lapslie; Jackson

We say: Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Bradford City

With playoff first legs often tight and cagey given the stakes for both teams, we anticipate a low-scoring affair at the weekend and back Bolton Wanderers to take a slender advantage into next week's trip to Bradford.

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