Preview: Bolton Wanderers vs Barnsley - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to continue an unbeaten run and narrow their gap to the top two in the League One table, Bolton Wanderers will welcome Barnsley to the Toughsheet Community Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts sit third on the back of three straight wins, while their visitors

Match preview

Bolton Wanderers head into the weekend aiming to ramp up their pursuit of League One's top two with a four straight victory and a sixth game unbeaten.

In their first full season under the management of Steven Schumacher, after missing out on the playoffs last time around, their automatic promotion hopes took a hit around the turn of the year, having only managed two draws and two losses in a four-game span to sit on 39 points from 25 outings.

The Trotters have bounced back with a near-perfect record since, though, initially recording triumphs over Wigan Athletic and Leyton Orient either side of a goalless stalemate away at Stevenage.

A 2-1 victory over Burton Albion then followed, before Schumacher's men visited AFC Wimbledon on Saturday and made it three straight wins, as Corey Blackett-Taylor netted the only goal in the 13th minute.

Now sitting third and six points behind Lincoln City, who they play next weekend, Bolton Wanderers will aim to keep building momentum with a fourth straight win in an attempt to narrow their gap ahead of that pivotal contest.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head across to Lancashire in search of a return to winning ways to climb back towards the top half.

Under the new permanent management of Conor Hourihane in the summer, Barnsley's 2025-26 campaign has not been a convincing one, currently sitting 14th on 37 points from 26 games, having won 10 and lost nine of those.

Their struggles have come at the back, with only two sides conceding more than the 43 goals the Reds have allowed, despite Hourihane's men having played the fewest games in the division at this stage.

Setting out to build on a 3-1 home win over Stevenage, the Yorkshire outfit hosted strugglers Northampton Town on Tuesday, but they failed to climb the table, instead settling for a 2-2 draw having led 2-1 through David McGoldrick and Adam Phillips and been pegged back by a Max Dyche leveller.

Now sitting 14th with a lack of momentum on their side and increasing pressure on management and ownership, one point outside the top half and 11 outside of the top six, albeit with at least one game in hand on every side in the league, Barnsley will hope to rebuild confidence and kickstart a climb with a statement away win on Saturday.

Bolton Wanderers League One form:

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Bolton Wanderers form (all competitions):

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Barnsley League One form:

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Barnsley form (all competitions):

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Team News

Bolton Wanderers are unable to call on Richard Taylor, Marcus Forss, Johnny Kenny, Josh Sheehan and key winger Amario Cozier-Duberry on Saturday due to ongoing injuries.

Schumacher may field an unchanged starting XI from their latest win over AFC Wimbledon, with debutants Corey Blackett-Taylor and Rob Apter having joined John McAtee behind a striker with the former getting on the scoresheet.

Mason Burstow will hope to displace Sam Dalby and lead the line, though, while Kyle Dempsey and Ethan Erhahon are bound to continue their midfield partnership in Sheehan's absence.

Barnsley head to the Toughsheet Community Stadium without defenders Georgie Gent and Josh Earl, while key midfielder Luca Connell also missed their meeting with Northampton Town in midweek.

Following the deadline day departure of Davis Keillor-Dunn, who topped the Reds' scoring charts this season and last term, veteran David McGoldrick led the line and scored his seventh goal of the season last time out.

Adam Phillips could come in to join danger man Reyes Cleary in support of McGoldrick, having come off the bench to hit his fifth of the season on Tuesday, potentially leaving Jonathan Bland, Patrick Kelly and Vimal Yoganathan to compete for two midfield spots.

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Bonham; Osei-Tutu, Forino-Joseph, Toal, Johnston; Dempsey, Erhahon; Apter, McAtee, Blackett-Taylor; Dalby

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Goodman; O'Keefe, O'Connell, Shepherd, Watson; Kelly, Bland; Banks, Phillips, Cleary; McGoldrick

We say: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Barnsley

Barnsley do have the tools to hurt Bolton, but left rocked by the loss of star man Keillor-Dunn and their uninspiring form in recent months, we see the reds falling short against a Trotters side growing in confidence and showing their quality in their top-two bid.

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