Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt has cautioned his team they may face a potential “banana skin” as they look to continue their promotion charge against rock-bottom side Grimsby Town on Saturday afternoon.  

The Wanderers come into the tie on the back of two consecutive victories including a 1-0 win against play-off hopefuls Salford City during the week leaving them third on the table, two points behind first place.    

Meanwhile hosts Grimsby find themselves a worrying seven points from safety and rooted to the bottom of the league. 

The Mariners are currently without in a win in their last four having been beaten 1-0 by Bradford City in their last outing. 

Team News 

Bolton will be without former loanee Marcus Maddison after the club announced on Monday that his loan had been terminated following concerns over the midfielders well-being. 

The Whites however have no new injury concerns having come away unscathed from their previous game. 

Paul Hurst's team also have no fresh injury worries but will be without both forward Stefan Payne and midfielder Filipe Morais as Hurst confirmed that neither would play any part in the remainder of the season, leaving the future Grimsby careers of both players in doubt. 

The decision comes following a bizarre incident during Grimsby's game against Bradford last weekend when Payne appeared to headbutt team mate Morais following a verbal altercation between the two as the teams walked off for half time.

Predicted line Ups 

Grimsby Town (4-3-1-2)

McKeown; Hendrie, Hewitt, Menayese, Habergham; Matete, Coke,  Spokes; Williams; Hanson, John-Lewis

Bolton Wanderers (4-2-3-1) 

Gilks; Jones, Almeida Santos, Baptiste, John; Williams, Lee; Isgrove, Thomason, Afolayan;  Doyle

Ones to watch 

Giles Coke (Grimsby Town)

Since singing for the Mariners in February Giles Coke has become a genuine creative spark in a midfield which has badly struggled to create real goal scoring opportunities of late.

The 34-year-old's ability to carry the ball from the deep and spread the play out wide when it becomes congested has added another dynamic to Grimsby's attacking play and has been instrumental in their up turn in form of late, which has given them at least a small glimmer of hope in avoiding the drop.    

Eoin Doyle (Bolton Wanderers) 

When Eoin Doyle first signed for Bolton back in July many fans doubted whether the Irishman would be able to back up the 25 goal campaign he had enjoyed with Swindon Town the season before, but in the months since Doyle has without doubt proved himself to be one of the best strikers League Two has to offer. 

In another stellar campaign he has netted 17 times so far and found himself involved in a goal at least once every two games. 

Since January, when the Wanderers' season really began to take off, Doyle has the become focal point of virtually everything his side do when going forward with his link up play becoming just as important to their success as his goals.   

If Grimsby are to have any chance of stopping their high-flying opponents then isolating Doyle and preventing him for dominating the game, as he has done so often over recent months, will be crucial.  

Where to watch 

The game will begin at 12:30 BST on Saturday April 17th.

Due to current COVID-19 lockdown restrictions no fans will be able to attend the game. 

Access to watch the game can be found through the iFollow section on the official websites of both Grimsby Town and Bolton Wanderers.  

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