National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Bolton Wanderers or Portsmouth that keep their silverware dream alive.
There’s little time for restitution or working hard at the training pitch these days, with both teams having played their last game less than four days ago.
Bolton Wanderers form and stats
Last season, Bolton Wanderers's EFL Trophy journey ended in the 3rd round.Bolton Wanderers have played 13 League One games at their own stadium so far this season, resulting in 7-4-2 (wins-draws-losses).
Bolton Wanderers are confident in defense, having played 260 minutes without conceding a goal in the league.
The spoils were shared in Wanderers's previous game, also at home. Visiting Plymouth Argyle travelled back with a draw after a 0-0 scoreline. Aimson, defender, was given a rating of 8.0/10 in that game, top of the team. Aimson won 5 of 5 duels.
A strong away win before that one, visiting Barnsley and winning 3-0.This is expected to be a close game, with Bolton Wanderers perhaps considered small favourites due to their home advantage. Looking back at earlier matches similar to this one (expected to be close with Bolton Wanderers as a small favourite), we find 8 games. Bolton Wanderers has won 4 of these, drawn 4 and lost 0.
Some members of the home team might already be thinking of their next match, the League One game versus Portsmouth in only four days. This game is also played here at University of Bolton Stadium.
Wanderers are certainly not overdoing their scoring at home in league matches, having created 16 goals in 13 games. It's worth mentioning that 10 of these goals has been scored in their last three home matches. Bolton Wanderers are not conceding a lot of goals here at University of Bolton Stadium in the league, averaging less than one per game. The total is 8 from 13 matches.
Portsmouth form and stats
They also participated in EFL Trophy last season. This ended in the 3rd round.Playing away, Portsmouth have won 4 games, drawn 3 and suffered 3 defeats in the League One this season.
Two away matches in a row for Portsmouth, who will hope to get a better result in this one after losing 0-1 against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup. Defender Swanson was the best team player with a rating of 7.35. Swanson hit one key pass and won 5 of 6 duels.
The game before that, in the League One, was lost at home, a 1-3 defeat against Charlton Athletic.As mentioned above, this is an open game with no clear favourite. We have found 8 similar matches played by Portsmouth in our archives, and the results are: 2 wins for Portsmouth, 2 draws and 4 defeats.
There might be some complaints about the fixture list from the Portsmouth manager Cowley as the team has another away game coming up in only four days, this time against Bolton Wanderers.
Scoring goals is the main ingredient in creating success in football, and not only at home. So far Portsmouth have scored 12 goals in 10 league games away. 12 goals have been conceded by Portsmouth in these games.
Head 2 Head
Portsmouth have won at least one point in the last 5 fixtures (3-2-0) versus Bolton Wanderers.Top Goalscorers
  C. Bishop 10 goals |  D. Charles 8 goals |  C. Bradley 4 goals |
Bolton Wanderers missing players
Portsmouth missing players
| Bolton Wanderers | Portsmouth | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 15 | Played | P | 12 | 25 | ||
| 13 | 9 | Won | W | 5 | 9 | ||
| 7 | 4 | Drew | D | 3 | 10 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Lost | L | 4 | 6 | ||
| 42 | 27 | Scored | S | 14 | 36 | ||
| 22 | 11 | Conceded | C | 13 | 29 | ||
| 84% | 80% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 92% | 92% | ||
| 72% | 73% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 67% | 80% | ||
| 52% | 53% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 33% | 44% | ||
| 32% | 33% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 25% | 32% | ||
| 16% | 13% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 8% | 12% | ||
| 48% | 47% | BTTS | BTTS | 33% | 52% | ||
| 44% | 53% | Clean Sheets | C S | 42% | 32% | ||
| 24% | 20% | Failed to Score | F T | 33% | 24% | ||
| 5.9 | 6.3 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 6.6 | 5.7 | ||
| 4 | 3.6 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 5.1 | 4.7 | ||
| 1.6 | 1.5 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 2.1 | 1.9 | ||
| 1 | 0 | Red cards | R C | 1 | 2 | ||
| 13.3 | 14.5 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 11.2 | 11.8 | ||
| 3.8 | 4.6 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 3.8 | 3.9 | ||
| 44% | 39% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 30% | 37% | ||
| 8 | 7.3 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 11.3 | 10 | ||
| 2.6 | 2.3 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 2.9 | 2.8 | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Plymouth Argyle | 26 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 46 | 26 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 9 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 21 | 17 | 20 | 57 |
| 2 | Sheffield Wednesday | 25 | 15 | 7 | 3 | 45 | 18 | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 27 | 52 |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 25 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 47 | 25 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 22 | 9 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 25 | 16 | 22 | 50 |
| 4 | Derby County | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 33 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 23 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 41 |
| 5 | Bolton Wanderers | 25 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 30 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 41 |
| 6 | Barnsley | 23 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 21 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 40 |
| 7 | Wycombe Wanderers | 25 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 26 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 12 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| 8 | Bristol Rovers | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 42 | 43 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 21 | -1 | 37 |
| 9 | Peterborough United | 24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 39 | 31 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 24 | 9 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 15 | 22 | 8 | 35 |
| 10 | Port Vale | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 27 | 32 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 21 | -5 | 35 |
| 11 | Exeter City | 25 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 38 | 36 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 20 | 2 | 34 |
| 12 | Portsmouth | 22 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 29 | 27 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 2 | 31 |
| 13 | Charlton Athletic | 25 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 38 | 36 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 2 | 31 |
| 14 | Fleetwood Town | 24 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 28 | 25 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 18 | 15 | 3 | 29 |
| 15 | Oxford United | 24 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 29 | 27 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 29 |
| 16 | Lincoln City | 24 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 24 | 30 | 12 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 11 | 20 | -6 | 29 |
| 17 | Shrewsbury Town | 24 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 23 | 29 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 12 | -6 | 29 |
| 18 | Cheltenham Town | 24 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 19 | 27 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 14 | -8 | 28 |
| 19 | Morecambe | 25 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 26 | 35 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 19 | -9 | 24 |
| 20 | Cambridge United | 25 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 22 | 41 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 25 | -19 | 24 |
| 21 | Accrington Stanley | 23 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 21 | 38 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 20 | -17 | 22 |
| 22 | Burton Albion | 25 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 32 | 50 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 31 | -18 | 22 |
| 23 | Milton Keynes Dons | 24 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 23 | 36 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 16 | -13 | 21 |
| 24 | Forest Green Rovers | 25 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 21 | 49 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 26 | -28 | 20 |
