Match Preview: Bolton Wanderers v Walsall

The FA Cup Third Round is a magical weekend in the football calendar, not least this week because it offers an opportunity to forget about the off-field mess and the awful league form for a couple of hours.

Bolton Wanderers welcome Walsall to the University of Bolton Stadium this afternoon, a team we’ve only faced on 23 previous occasions. We’ve beaten the Saddlers in four of our last five clashes, winning their most recent visit to Bolton 4-1 when we were back in League One. We’ve also only ever lost one game at home to Walsall, way back in 1972.

Interestingly, today is the first ever meeting between Bolton and Walsall in the FA Cup. And this offers an opportunity for Bolton to reach the fourth round of the competition for the first time in three years - after defeats to Premier League sides in the last two seasons.

Bolton poss Phil Parkinson is expected to make a number of changes, some forced some not for various reasons, and give some players a bit of a rest following a busy festive period.

You can follow all the action from the UniBol via our live feed around 2.30pm and over on our Twitter feed.