Greens ready for Bolton test
Argyle’s trip to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday is the first of their double header against sides also battling for a play off spot in Sky Bet League One.
Four days after the trip to the University of Bolton Stadium, the Greens entertain Portsmouth at Home Park in what is likely to be a vital week in their season.
“The league is so tight,” Steven Schumacher said, “Bolton are 11th at the moment but only seven points behind us, things can change so quickly if you can put a run together.”
The Pilgrims go into the game off the back of consecutive 2-0 victories, over Morecambe and AFC Wimbledon, and in sixth place in the division.
They are looking to build on that momentum and continue to put a run of form together to keep them in and around those top six positions.
“Everyone was really pleased with the result on Tuesday night,” Steven said, “it was good to get back to back wins at home.
“We wanted to build some momentum which we have managed to do with those wins and we head into these next few games with a lot of confidence,” he continued.
The Greens have been good on their travels this season and have the fourth best away record in the division.
They have won three of their last five away games in the league but did lose on their last trip at Cambridge United.
When the sides met earlier this campaign, in a rain soaked game at Home Park, Argyle ran out 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Brendan Galloway, Conor Grant and Ryan Broom.
It was the second time in 29 years that they had beaten Bolton with the other coming in 2019.
On that day, Callum McFadzean scored the only goal of the game as Argyle claimed their first away win over Bolton since 1967 – knocking them out of the Emirates FA Cup in the process.
That date, 55 years ago, was the last time Argyle secured an away league win over the Trotters but victory on Saturday would see them stretch their advantage over Bolton to 10 points.
A win for the home side, however, and they will feel that they have a strong chance of catching Argyle and making the play offs.
Their form since the turn of the year has seen them climb to 11th in the table and become one of the form sides in the division.
They have lost just one of their last five league games and just twice since the beginning of January.
Their impressive form has been built around strong home form, with six wins and one draw from their last seven games at the University of Bolton Stadium.
In that run they have beaten Sunderland 6-0, AFC Wimbledon 4-0 and Ipswich Town 2-0.
The January signing of Accrington Stanley striker Dion Charles has added a potency to their attack with the Northern Ireland striker netting six times in 14 outings.
Steven said, “Bolton have picked up loads of points, they signed good players in January and are on a good run, so they will be confident too.
“It should be a really good game with a really good atmosphere.”
TEAM NEWS
Brendan Galloway, Alfie Lewis, Dan Scarr and George Cooper remain the only injury concerns for Argyle.
Bolton are without Elias Kachunga, Lloyd Isgrove and Andrew Tutte due to injuries and Gethin Jones is also missing
Kyle Dempsey has missed the last two matches due to a groin problem but could be in contention to feature on Saturday.
TICKET NEWS
Tickets are no longer being sold for this and there is no pay on the day facility at Bolton.
ARGYLE TV
If you cannot make the game then it is available to watch on Argyle TV for international subscribers, or to listen to for domestic fans for just £2.50.
Details on packages available to you can be found here.
