Morecambe travel to Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday 16 August in Sky Bet League One.
Saturday’s Lancashire derby saw the Shrimps held to a point at home to Fleetwood Town. Arthur Gnahoua’s sensational opener was cancelled out by Danny Andrew seven minutes from time.
In the four meetings between the two sides, Bolton Wanderers are unbeaten. The Trotters have won once against the Shrimps and the other three clashes ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Opposition
Ian Evatt’s men are unbeaten so far this campaign. On the opening day, they earned a point away from home against promotion favourites Ipswich Town before beating Wycombe Wanderers 3-0. Last Saturday, they came away from Port Vale with a point, despite being down to ten men for the best part of an hour.
The former Blackpool and Chesterfield defender hung up his boots in 2018 after a career spanning more than 20 years. The 40-year-old began his managerial career at Barrow where he won the National League, against all odds, at the first time of asking. The following season, Evatt made the switch to Bolton Wanderers where he guided the Trotters to League One. Last season, the club finished 9th with 73 points.
Key Players
Dapo Afolayan was named as the club’s Player of the Year last season after finishing the campaign top scorer with 14 goals. The 24-year-old, who can operate on the wing or up front, joined Bolton from West Ham United last summer after a successful loan spell.
Captain Ricardo Santos joined the club in August 2020 from Barnet. The defender came through the youth setup at Dagenham & Redbridge and went on to make over 60 appearances in League One for Peterborough United. Santos received a red card at the weekend against Port Vale, however Evatt, who was also sent off, said the club will file a report.
Midfielder Kyle Dempsey has started the season strongly with two goals so far. The 26-year-old arrived at the University of Bolton Stadium in January from Gillingham. He came through the youth setup at Carlisle United and has represented a number of clubs, including Huddersfield Town and Fleetwood Town.
Shrimps’ pre-match thoughts
Derek Adam’s says he understands what his team needs to do to get the better of Bolton.
“They’ve adapted over the summer, and we’ve added as well,” he said.
"Anybody that beats Wycombe 3-0 has to be doing something right, we looked at that game, we’ve looked at the game from Saturday [against Port Vale], we’ve looked at previous games.
"We understand their philosophy and we understand what we’ve got to do to get the better of them.”
Meet the officials
Anthony Backhouse will be the man in the middle on Tuesday night. He will be assessed by linesmen Richard Woodward and Matthew Parry, as well as Fourth Official Scott Jackson.
The Cumbria-based official has taken charge of three games so far this season, dishing out 11 yellow cards and no reds in the process.
Backhouse last took charge of the Shrimps in last season's 2-1 away defeat against Lincoln City, when an impressive Toumani Diagouraga strike proved only to be a consolation on the night.
iFollow
After teaming up with Beyond Radio for the 2022/23 season, supporters will be able to listen to exclusive, full and uninterrupted radio commentary of every single game, home and away, which will be broadcast simultaneously on 103.5FM, 107.5FM and DAB+ digital radio across North Lancashire and South Cumbria as well as on the iFollow Shrimps platform.
Lead commentator Dave Salmon will be joined by the Club's Media and Content Coordinator, Matt Smith.
Audio passes are available from as little as £2.50 per match, £4.49 for a monthly pass or £45 for a season pass.
For this fixture, video passes are also available and can be purchased here.
As well as full match commentary, the ‘Shrimps Verdict’ podcast will be available post-match, featuring online, on demand content, including audio match highlights, post-match interviews and reaction, and much more!
