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

Aiming to bounce back from a defeat at the weekend on their return from the long international break, Wolverhampton Wanderers will welcome Bolton Wanderers to Molineux Stadium on Tuesday.

The hosts dropped to fifth spot in the Championship table after losing on Saturday, while their visitors also lost to fall to 17th.

Match preview

Wolverhampton Wanderers return to action at Molineux Stadium on Tuesday aiming to bounce back to winning ways in the Championship after a setback last time out.

In their first season after Championship relegation, and aiming for an immediate return to the top flight under the new management of Cesar Peixoto, they headed into the first break of the season on 14 points from their first seven outings, having won four and only lost one of those.

That culminated in 1-0 wins over Sheffield United and rivals West Bromwich Albion, either side of an EFL Cup defeat, but after three weeks off, they were unable to make it three straight league wins at the weekend.

Peixoto's men visited fellow promotion-chasers Middlesbrough and left empty-handed, falling to a 1-0 defeat as Will Lankshear's goal on the hour mark made the only difference between the teams.

Now sat fifth, but only trailing third place by two points and fourth-placed Middlesbrough by four with a game in hand on every team in the top half, Wolves will hope to bounce back at the weekend and move back within touching distance of the automatic promotion spots.

Their visitors will also set out to return to winning in midweek having suffered defeats either side of the break.

Also in their first season back in the Championship after winning promotion last time around, Bolton Wanderers endured a tough early spell but went into the break on 10 points from eight matches thanks to back-to-back wins over Cardiff City and Norwich City to end a run of four straight losses.

The latter of those ended in a 4-3 triumph, marking the Trotters' first away league win of the season but taking their tally to 10 goals conceded in four games on the road, before they hosted Stoke City on their return to action after three weeks away on Saturday.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 20th minute, but Steven Schumacher's side still fell 2-0 down to goals from Lamine Cisse and Ben Wilmot, and Theo Bair's 92nd-minute goal came too late to spark a comeback.

Now sat 17th and with just a three-point cushion over the relegation zone, Bolton Wanderers face the tough task of a trip to Molineux Stadium with the hopes of upsetting the newly-relegated hosts and climbing back away from the bottom three.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Championship form:

Wolverhampton Wanderers form (all competitions):

Bolton Wanderers Championship form:

Bolton Wanderers form (all competitions):

Team News

Wolverhampton Wanderers remain without the injured duo of defender Yerson Mosquera and attacker Raul Jimenez.

In the absence of Jimenez, Adam Armstrong should continue to lead the line, with Rodrigo Gomes and Mateus Mane likely to keep their places on the wings.

Fer Lopez, meanwhile, may return from the outset to complete the attacking unit, having scored four goals in eight league games this term, perhaps leaving two midfield spots for Tommy Doyle, Andre, Marshall Munetsi, Jordan James and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.

Bolton Wanderers are unable to call on defender Chris Forino-Joseph, who has missed the last three games through injury after starting every match in 2026-27 prior to that.

Sam Dalby will continue to lead their attack, while winger Thierry Gale has arguably been the danger man this season and scored five goals in three caps for Barbados over the international break.

In Forino-Joseph's absence, Eoin Toal should again join Ben Davis in the middle of a back four, while Josh Sheehan is a mainstay in the engine room.

Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Sa; Trippier, Djiga, Toti, Bueno; Andre, Munetsi; Gomes, Lopez, Mane; Armstrong

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Bazunu; Larrazabal, Toal, Davies, Conway; Sheehan, Ethan Erhahon; Iling Junior, Rodrigues, Gale; Dalby

We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Bolton Wanderers

Aside from a 4-0 loss to Millwall, Bolton Wanderers have shown their resilience to keep games tight this season, but they have struggled defensively on the road and may lack the quality to match the hosts.

We fancy Wolves to bounce back to winning ways on home turf.

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