The Shrimps welcome Bolton Wanderers to the Mazuma Stadium on Saturday 4 March as they go in search for their second consecutive home win.
Last time out, Morecambe were beaten 1-0 by Fleetwood away from home, though in their most recent home game, Derek Adams’ side overcame Port Vale by a goal to nil thanks to Adam Mayor’s second half strike.
Saturday's opponents were last in action on Tuesday night where they fell to a 3-1 defeat by Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
The Opposition
Wanderers currently sit fourth in League One with 18 wins, eight draws and nine defeats in 35 games.
Bolton were promoted to the third tier in 2021, the same year as the Shrimps, and secured automatic promotion after beating Crawley 4-1 on the final day of the season. The Trotters have had plenty of success across the football pyramid, including three Championship titles. The Horwich-based side are also four-time FA Cup winners and two-time Carabao Cup winners.
Ian Evatt is in charge at the University of Bolton Stadium and, before moving to management, played as a centre back for Derby County, QPR, Blackpool and Chesterfield. Evatt began his managerial career in caretaker charge of Chesterfield before joining Barrow full-time in 2018. The 41-year-old guided The Bluebirds back to the EFL in 2020 before joining Wanderers that summer.
Key Players
Striker Dion Charles is the Trotters’ leading scorer this season with 16 goals. Charles scored the opener in Bolton’s 3-1 defeat on Tuesday night. The 27-year-old scored 27 goals in 81 appearances for Accrington Stanley before joining Bolton in January 2022. So far, Charles has scored 22 goals for the Whites in 51 appearances.
Full-back Gethin Jones tops the Wanderers assist chart with five so far this season. The Australian has had loan and permanent spells with Plymouth Argyle, Barnsley, Fleetwood Town and Carlisle United so far in his career. Jones has also represented Wales 21 times across U17, U19 and U21 level.
Wideman Connor Bradley has been getting in amongst the goals and assists for Bolton this season, scoring five goals and assisting four so far this campaign. The 19-year-old has impressed at the University of Bolton Stadium and is currently on loan from Liverpool.
Derek Adams’ Thoughts
Morecambe boss Derek Adams is looking forward to his side playing in front of a noisy crowd at the Mazuma on Saturday.
“The atmosphere will be very good,” he said.
“It will be electric. We’ve had a lot of big fixtures at home already this season at home and the players have responded to that and I’m sure they’re all looking forward to half past twelve on Saturday."
Team News
Cole Stockton comes back into the manager's thinking after missing our away trip to Fleetwood Town through injury.
Michael Mellon will not be available however after picking up an injury at Highbury.
Meet The Officials
Oliver Langford will referee the fixture and will be assisted by Mark Dwyer, Andrew Aylott and fourth official Benjamin Speedie.
Langford has taken charge of 22 games this season with 16 in the Championship, three in League One, two in League Two and one in the FA Cup.
The official last refereed Morecambe in a League Two fixture against Wanderers in February 2021, a 1-1 draw away from home.
Watch Live!
iFollow Shrimps' video match passes are available for Saturday's game for just £10.
Click here for more information!