Bolton v Aston Villa predictions: Villans vulnerable to hot Trotters

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Bolton Wanderers v Aston Villa in the EFL Cup second-round on Tuesday.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Main Event & Football, 7.45pm Tuesday

Best bet

Bolton
1pt 13-2 Ladbrokes, Hills

Team news

Bolton
Dion Charles could return after a thigh injury. Josh Sheehan and Lloyd Isgrove are long-term absentees.

Aston Villa
Centre-backs Diego Carlos and Kortney Hause are injured.

Preview

Sky could have sent their cameras to a handful of lower-league venues in search of an EFL Cup giantkilling but they may well have called it right by trekking to Bolton.

Southampton's trip to Cambridge doesn't look a pretty prospect for the Saints, while the broadcaster must have been sorely tempted to head off to Stockport or Fleetwood to see if either of them could heap more misery on Leicester and Everton respectively.

But instead the spotlight falls on Steven Gerrard, a three-time winner of the League Cup as a player but whose first foray into the competition as a manager could well end in an early fall.

Certainly the match prices invite a nibble at Bolton, a League One side with top-six pretensions who will fancy they can get the better of a Premier League side with a bottom-six look about them right now.

Ian Evatt's Bolton lost at the weekend which in itself was newsworthy. The Trotters hadn't lost this season prior to locking horns with Sheffield Wednesday, who left the University of Bolton Stadium with a well-earned 2-0 triumph under their belts.

Up until then, Bolton were sharp. They finished last season in flying form and started 2022-23 in much the same vein, and they will be champing at the bit to get stuck into Villa.

Villa, of course, also lost on Saturday, beaten 3-1 at Crystal Palace, a scoreline that in no way reflects quite how dominant the Eagles were, or quite how poor the Villans were.

Gerrard has vowed to field a strong side at Bolton but has also insisted he will make changes ahead of the 'David Cameron derby' at home to West Ham on Sunday.

And to be honest, he could drop half his team from the weekend given how awful they were with usually dependable sorts such as Matty Cash, Lucas Digne and John McGinn chucking in howlers.

That's two away matches this season and two defeats having lost at Bournemouth on the opening weekend, so even though Bolton might be a third-tier outfit, any awayday for Villa right now threatens to be a nervy experience.

A much-changed Villa – then under Dean Smith – went to Barrow at this stage of last season's competition and won 6-0 with young Cameron Archer bagging a treble. Archer could feature on Tuesday if he isn't farmed out on loan.

That shows what the Villans are capable of against lower-league opponents. But Bolton are better than Barrow and Villa were in a much happier state 12 months ago than they are now.

And given that climate of disquiet, odds of 13-2 about the hosts look tasty.

Key stat

Bolton have lost only one of their last 14 matches.

Notebook

Bolton

Penalty taker Aaron Morley
Assist ace Conor Bradley
Card magnet Ricardo Santos
Set-piece aerial threat Ricardo Santos

Aston Villa

Penalty taker Danny Ings
Assist ace Emi Buendia
Set-piece aerial threat Tyrone Mings
Card magnet Danny Ings

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