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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Match preview<\/p>\n
Steven Schumacher<\/strong><\/a> is in his first full season as Bolton boss after taking over the reins from Ian Evatt<\/strong><\/a> in January.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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<\/strong><\/a> and Mason Burstow<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sheffield Wednesday’s build-up to the 2025-26 season has been dominated by off-field issues stemming from\u00a0Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Danny Rohl<\/strong><\/a> also left his position as head coach before the start of the campaign, leading to Henrik Pedersen<\/strong><\/a> stepping up from his role as assistant to become the club’s new boss on a reported three-year deal.<\/p>\n 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<\/strong><\/a> netted a 26th-minute opener to give the Owls a narrow lead at the break.<\/p>\n Jannik Vestergaard<\/strong><\/a> cancelled out Chalobah’s opener, before a Barry Bannan<\/strong><\/a> red card was followed by a late Wout Faes<\/strong><\/a> winner, leaving Sheffield Wednesday with nothing to show for their efforts.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bolton Wanderers form (all competitions):<\/p>\n L W<\/p>\n Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):<\/p>\n L<\/p>\n Team News<\/p>\n Bolton are expected to be without the services of Richard Taylor<\/strong><\/a>, Will Forrester, Kyle Dempsey<\/strong><\/a>, and Victor Adeboyejo<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Summer signing Sam Dalby<\/strong><\/a> is closing in on a return to action, but Wednesday’s fixture may come too soon for the striker.<\/p>\n Schumacher could decide to rotate his side for the cup clash, with Chris Forino, Josh Dacres-Cogley, Aaron Morley<\/strong><\/a>, Ethan Erhahon<\/strong><\/a> and John McAtee<\/strong><\/a> all in contention to feature.\u00a0<\/p>\n As for the visitors, Pedersen expected Chalobah to be out for “some time” after being forced off in Sunday’s defeat to Leicester.<\/p>\n Yan Valery<\/strong><\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:<\/strong><\/p>\n Sharman-Lowe; Dacres-Cogley, Toal, Forino, Conway; Morley, Erhahon; Cozier-Duberry, Randall, Gale; McAtee<\/p>\n Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:<\/strong><\/p>\n Charles; Palmer, Iorfa, Otegbayo; Siqueira, Fusire, Ingelsson, M. Lowe; J. Lowe, Kobacki, Ugbo<\/p>\n We say: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday \u00a0<\/p>\n For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Sheffield](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/uploads\/2025\/07\/imago1063361258-688b45ab1d6cf2.webp\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Bolton](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/25\/10\/steven-schumacher_1.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"SM](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/https:\/\/sportsmole-media-prod.s3.gra.io.cloud.ovh.net\/20\/33\/sm-words-green-background.png\" "\\"SM")
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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.<\/p>\n