Both Bolton Wanderers and Oxford United will be closely monitoring each other’s team news in the lead-up to the League One Play-Off Final at Wembley Stadium this Saturday. Each side will be looking to gain any psychological edge possible before the match.
Bolton is expected to be the favorites, particularly since they scored five goals against Oxford earlier in the season. However, in a one-off final, anything can happen, and Oxford will be buoyed by their hard-fought 2-1 aggregate victory over Peterborough United in the semi-finals.
Bolton also had a challenging semi-final, narrowly overcoming Barnsley’s second-leg comeback to win 5-4 on aggregate. This test of their character may have relieved some pressure. Despite nerves being high, Bolton enters the final with stronger form, having gone 12 matches unbeaten before their second-leg loss to Barnsley. Additionally, Bolton hasn’t lost to Oxford in the league this season, with a 5-0 home win and a 0-0 draw at the Kassam Stadium.
Oxford faces an injury crisis in their forward positions and has been without a dedicated striker on the bench in recent weeks. Fortunately, they have Mark Harris, who scored 15 times in the third tier this season. However, there was a scare earlier this week when first-team coach Craig Short revealed to the Oxford Mail that Harris had suffered a minor knock in training.
Short said, “I see lads jumping into tackles and I’ll shout ‘steady, calm down, be relaxed’, but they are. They’re very respectful and don’t want to hurt anyone. Mark Harris got a little knock off Greg (Leigh) and he’s fine, but your heart is in your mouth. They’re looking good and had a weekend off to prepare. They’ve had a busy schedule, and we’ll just do the normal preparation that’s been successful in the last few weeks.”
Although Harris is expected to play on Saturday, the minor knock might give Bolton a psychological edge. Nonetheless, Harris is likely to play a significant role and could pose substantial challenges for Bolton’s defense if he is in form.
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