Peterborough are now mathematically out of the League One automatic promotion fight after they suffered a 2-0 defeat in Tuesday’s away clash against relegation-threatened Cheltenham.
With Posh needing a near-miracle to stay in the promotion battle, Darren Ferguson opted to rest a number of key players as he turned his focus to preparations for the playoffs.
As a result, a much-changed Peterborough side fell to a 2-0 home loss following first-half goals from Joe Nuttall and Matty Taylor.
Posh are guaranteed to finish in at least fourth spot, but they could finish in third if they pull off an unlikely feat and beat Bolton by a four-goal margin.
They have been in fine goalscoring form in their last two home matches, claiming a 3-0 win over Port Vale before beating Fleetwood Town 4-1 in their most recent outing at the Weston Homes Stadium.
Bolton recorded a 2-0 win in last Saturday’s home meeting with Port Vale to send the League One promotion battle to the final day of the season.
Aaron Collins opened the scoring in the 72nd minute, before Cameron Jerome added a second in stoppage time to leave the Trotters three points behind second-placed Derby.
For Bolton to earn promotion, they need to beat Peterborough and hope that Derby lose to Carlisle United, while also requiring a swing in goal difference of at least four goals.
Even if they are unable to overhaul Derby, Bolton will still be keen to build momentum and extend their unbeaten run to seven matches ahead of a potential playoff campaign.
The Trotters will have fond memories of their most recent trip to the Weston Homes Stadium in February 2023 when they produced a free-scoring display to ease to a 5-0 victory.
Peterborough are expected to be without the injured duo of midfielder Jeando Fuchs and winger Michael Olakigbe.
After making changes to his side in midweek, Ferguson is likely to make further rotation as he looks to keep his squad fresh ahead of the playoffs.
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Josh Knight, Harrison Burrows, Hector Kyprianou, Archie Collins and Joel Randall could be brought back into the side for Saturday’s home clash.
Bolton will have to assess Nathaniel Ogbeta after he picked up an injury issue in the warm-up ahead of the win over Port Vale.
Ricardo Santos has missed the last two games due to a calf problem, but the defender is expected to be passed fit to face his former club.
