We pick five of the most important fights in next Friday's play-off semi-final (Image: Camerasport)
The first leg of Friday's play-off semi-final will be the 50th competitive meeting between Wanderers and Barnsley - two sides who have gotten to know each other quite well over recent seasons.
In the 1,001 days between their League Cup meeting in August 2021 and the final whistle blowing at the Toughsheet Stadium next Tuesday, they will have played each other ten times in all competitions.
Ian Evatt has already noted that there will be "no secrets", but apart from Bolton's 3-0 win over Oakwell last January, there was also very little to separate the sides when they met on the pitch.
We decided to take a look at some of the possible match-ups in the context of this season's two draws and what we could expect on another night of play-off drama.
JOSH SHEEHAN VS LUCA CONNELL
It has been an excellent season for Sheehan, who was deservedly crowned Bolton's player of the year for his influence in midfield throughout the season. However, he has not yet given his best against a major promotion rival.
His two halves at Oakwell were chalk and cheese. He kept well out of danger and kicked from post to post in the first 45 minutes. In the final third he touched the ball just once in open play. After the break he was much more involved and made sure Bolton played at the pace that got them back into the game. We won't mention the punishment at the end because Randell Williams spared his blushes.
Wanderers Academy product Connell won't necessarily be pitted directly against Sheehan, but if he is allowed to influence and disrupt play in the way he likes to do, it will cause problems.
In February, Sheehan had one of his most difficult home games of the season as Bolton were forced to play a little more directly and did not feel comfortable with the physicality of the match until the final stages.
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It was also one of only three home games this season in which the Welshman played for more than an hour but failed to create a scoring opportunity - the others being a 4-0 defeat to Wigan and the 1-1 draw with Portsmouth .
Connell will be hoping to ruffle feathers and make the game more to his liking, especially if that can deliver the set-pieces that have seen 198 shots on target this season - a total beaten only by Cheltenham and Stevenage in League One .
RICARDO SANTOS V DEVANTE COLE
Bolton's captain was missing from the 1-1 draw at the Toughsheet, with Caleb Taylor brought in as a substitute. Within six minutes a crucial flick from a long throw was missed and Cole narrowly slotted between Kyle Dempsey and Paris Maghoma to open the scoring.
Cole had more success in that match than any other this season, but with Santos fit and available again, Barnsley is unlikely to have it all his way again.
Cole managed just twelve touches in 90 minutes in the second match, and only one in the penalty area. However, it was a shot on target and a reminder that his goal-scoring instincts needed little encouragement. One loss of concentration can be costly.
Barnsley tend to pair Cole with John McAtee and both players tend to drift across the front line, meaning the entire back three has to be on the message. They also have the option to go more direct, for example with Sam Cosgrove.
Santos is one of the Bolton players who regularly takes the opportunity in the biggest games, and knowing he will be left with plenty of space behind him, we hope there is still some fuel left in the afterburners.
GEORGE THOMASON V ADAM PHILLIPS
Thomason was suspended for the home game and his energy in midfield was missed, with Phillips particularly influential on the right of Barnsley's central midfield three.
The Liverpool midfielder has been the Reds' main man against better opponents so often this season. He has more assists than anyone else on the squad and has the ability to shoot from almost anywhere when the mood strikes.
Thomason's influence in Bolton's midfield has been significantly strengthened this season and few in Evatt's squad are more adept at breaking up play and covering the yards between the two boxes. However, his very recent form has been patchy and he will want to be much more reliable in possession than we saw against Peterborough on Saturday.
The match at Oakwell didn't start well for him, a mistake leading to the opening goal, but Thomason's character eventually shone through and together with the finesse of Sheehan and Collins, Wanderers dragged themselves back into the match.
DION CHARLES V JOSH EARL
Charles did not feature in the 2-2 draw against Oakwell, but Bolton's top scorer may feel he owes Barnsley after a frustrating time in the draw in February.
Aaron Collins had stolen the headlines with an assist on his debut for Zac Ashworth and had also gone close to a winner late on - all reinforcing what a messy day it had been for the starting two up front.
Charles and Adeboyejo touched the ball just seven times in the box, with the former limited to a few reactive shots early on. The form of both players was scrutinized and former Whites loanee Earl did a decent job keeping Evatt's top scorer in places where he couldn't threaten Barnsley's goal.
Injury would strike soon after, and it wasn't until Saturday in Peterborough that we saw Charles back among the goals and looking more like the jangly, pressing threat we know he is.
He scored in the first leg of last year's play-off semi-final - an extremely nervous affair - and also in the 3-0 win over Oakwell in early 2023, so Barnsley harbors no obvious fears. But the match between Earl, who has seen more of the ball than any of his colleagues over the course of the two meetings with Bolton, and Charles, who makes his living picking the defender's pockets, could be interesting indeed.
AARON COLLINS V MAEL DE GEVIGNEY
Collins made a late impact in the first game, producing a pin-point ball for Ashworth's equalizer and then almost winning it with a fizzing shot from distance.
It was the second game in which the former Bristol Rovers man has come into his own, and if he can reproduce some of the guile and intelligent touches he showed in the second 45 minutes at Oakwell, Bolton could be on to something .
Frenchman De Gevigney was heavily involved in the first game and his defense in the penalty area was excellent, but his two worst passes this season were against Bolton (50 percent success and 51.7 percent respectively), suggesting he can do it under pressure are put. press the ball.
He played a role in McAtee's goal in the second game, blocking Thomason's intended pass, but also lost the series to Adeboyejo for Bolton's first goal of the second half.
