Bolton Wanderers now know what the upcoming campaign in League One looks like for them.
Wanderers finished last season ninth in League One, a good achievement for a newly promoted side to the division. But this campaign, Wanderers have their sights firmly set on a promotion challenge and are seeking to return to the Championship for the first time since 2019.
Bolton begin the season with hard opening matches both home and away. Their curtain raiser is on the road to Ipswich Town at Portman Road, before entertaining last season's defeated play-off finalists Wycombe Wanderers at the University of Bolton Stadium.
READ MORE: Ian Evatt's verdict on Bolton Wanderers' season opener vs Ipswich Town & League One fixtures
They form part of a challenging opening dozen or so fixtures for Wanderers. As well as the Tractor Boys and th Chairboys, Ian Evatt's side will face Sheffield Wednesday, Peterborough United and Charlton Athletic at home, as well as Portsmouth and MK Dons on the road.
It is a challenging opening phase of the campaign and, though of course nothing is decided in these early days, Wanderers will be seeking to have a positive start to the campaign. That was the case in the previous season and they will be seeking to replicate that.
The festive period sees Wanderers take on two out of the three sides relegated from the Championship. They entertain Derby County at home on Boxing Day before travelling to Barnsley on New Year's Day, sandwiching a trip to Lincoln City inbetween.
In the middle of March as the business end of the season nears, Wanderers have what could be three crucial games against teams that could rival them for promotion. Hosting Ipswich will be followed by a trip to Hillsborough to take on Sheffield Wednesday, before hosting Plymouth Argyle.
After those fixtures, Wanderers have in theory a kind conclusion to the campaign, with only two sides in their last eight games among those to have finished in the top half of the table. These are Oxford United and Accrington Stanley.
Games on the road against two promoted sides in the form of Bristol Rovers and Exeter City are among this run, as are clashes versus Burton Albion, Shrewsbury Town, Fleetwood Town and Cambridge United. The results in these parts of the season in particular could define where Wanderers end up this campaign.
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