Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s EFL Cup clash between Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield Wednesday, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
League One Bolton Wanderers will welcome Championship club Sheffield Wednesday to the Toughsheet Community Stadium for Wednesday’s EFL Cup first-round clash.
The Trotters head into the game on the back of a successful outing against Plymouth Argyle, while the Owls were unable to take anything from Sunday’s meeting with Leicester City.
Match preview
Steven Schumacher is in his first full season as Bolton boss after taking over the reins from Ian Evatt in January.
Schumacher’s quest to push on from last term’s eighth-placed finish got off to a disappointing start, as the Trotters fell to a 2-0 away defeat in their league opener against Stockport County.
However, they produced a positive result in Saturday’s home clash against Schumacher’s former side Plymouth Argyle, running out 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Eoin Toal and Mason Burstow.
Bolton will now turn their focus to Wednesday’s EFL Cup clash, with the hosts looking to progress from the first round for the fifth consecutive season.
The Trotters negotiated two rounds against Mansfield Town and Shrewsbury Town in 2024-25, before they were abruptly stopped in their tracks by a heavy 5-1 defeat to Premier League heavyweights Arsenal.
The home side may be able to take confidence from the fact that they emerged 3-2 winners when they last faced Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Cup in August 2017.
Sheffield Wednesday’s build-up to the 2025-26 season has been dominated by off-field issues stemming from Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership.
Players and staff have had to contend with the delayed payment of wages, a transfer-fee embargo has hampered their summer business, and the North Stand has been closed at Hillsborough due to safety concerns.
Danny Rohl also left his position as head coach before the start of the campaign, leading to Henrik Pedersen stepping up from his role as assistant to become the club’s new boss on a reported three-year deal.
Pedersen’s threadbare squad put up a spirited showing in Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to recently-relegated Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, where Nathaniel Chalobah netted a 26th-minute opener to give the Owls a narrow lead at the break.
Jannik Vestergaard cancelled out Chalobah’s opener, before a Barry Bannan red card was followed by a late Wout Faes winner, leaving Sheffield Wednesday with nothing to show for their efforts.
Given their off-field issues, Sheffield Wednesday will not view the EFL Cup as a priority, but they will still want to build confidence by progressing from the first round for a fourth consecutive season.
Bolton Wanderers form (all competitions):
L W
Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):
L
Team News
Bolton are expected to be without the services of Richard Taylor, Will Forrester, Kyle Dempsey, and Victor Adeboyejo.
Summer signing Sam Dalby is closing in on a return to action, but Wednesday’s fixture may come too soon for the striker.
Schumacher could decide to rotate his side for the cup clash, with Chris Forino, Josh Dacres-Cogley, Aaron Morley, Ethan Erhahon and John McAtee all in contention to feature.
As for the visitors, Pedersen expected Chalobah to be out for “some time” after being forced off in Sunday’s defeat to Leicester.
Yan Valery was also withdrawn with a physical issue and will have to be assessed by the club’s medical staff, while Bannan will serve a one-match ban following his dismissal at the weekend.
Despite being short on numbers, Pedersen is likely to make several changes in a bid to keep the squad fresh for Saturday’s home league game against Stoke.
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sharman-Lowe; Dacres-Cogley, Toal, Forino, Conway; Morley, Erhahon; Cozier-Duberry, Randall, Gale; McAtee
Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Charles; Palmer, Iorfa, Otegbayo; Siqueira, Fusire, Ingelsson, M. Lowe; J. Lowe, Kobacki, Ugbo
We say: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday may operate in a division above Bolton, but with Pedersen contending with a threadbare squad, any changes to his starting lineup could result in a considerable drop-off in quality, which is why we think Bolton will do enough to advance to the second round on Wednesday.
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