League One playoff final: Bolton vs Oxford prediction, betting tips and odds

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Where to watch Bolton vs Oxford

You can watch Bolton vs Oxford in the League One playoff final at 4.15pm on Saturday May 18th, live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football.

Match prediction & best bet

Oxford or draw double chance
1pt 10-11 bet365, Hills

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Bolton vs Oxford odds

Bolton 10-11
Oxford 31-10
Draw 13-5

To be promoted
Bolton 11-20
Oxf​ord 7-4

Odds correct at time of publishing

Bolton vs Oxford predictions

Oxford have experienced playoff heartache twice in the last four seasons but they are capable of upsetting the odds against Bolton in Saturday's League One final at Wembley.

The market favours the Trotters, who are 11-20 to return to the Championship for the first time since 2019.

Ian Evatt's side finished third in League One – ten points clear of sixth-placed Oxford – and were disappointed to miss out on automatic promotion.

They gained a reputation for playing slick, attacking football and scored 86 league goals, which was eight more than Portsmouth and Derby, who were promoted automatically.

However, Bolton struggled for consistency during the run-in – winning only five of their final 14 league games – and delivered mixed bag of performances in the playoff semi-finals against Barnsley, winning the away leg 3-1 before losing 3-2 on home soil to narrowly progress to Wembley.

Bolton were widely expected to be far too strong for Barnsley, who approached the playoffs under a cloud having gone six matches without a win.

Evatt's side showed their class in the first leg at Oakwell but they seemed to be racked with nerves during the return and were hugely grateful to hear the final whistle.

Reaching the final was Bolton's objective, but their second-leg performance raised questions about their ability to handle pressure situations.

And mental strength may well be required against Oxford, who finished the season in impressive fashion.

Oxford's season seemed to be petering out in mid-March when they lost 5-0 away to Bolton, leaving them eighth in the table with eight games remaining.

However, Oxford manager Des Buckingham was brutally honest about his team's poor performance in Lancashire and that seemed to do the trick because his players responded superbly.

Oxford secured a top-six finish by racking up 17 points from their final eight matches and they produced a couple of intelligent, disciplined performances in the playoff semi-finals to a secure a hard-fought 2-1 aggregate success over Peterborough.

Restricting Peterborough, the division's top scorers, to one goal over two legs was no simple feat and it highlighted Oxford's growing powers of resistance.

They have clearly progressed since their capitulation against Bolton a little over two months ago and will be determined to give a much better account of themselves.

Getting the better of Bolton, who have lost only nine League One matches all season, will not be easy, but Oxford should give the Trotters a difficult game and look overpriced to avoid losing before extra-time.

Key stat

Oxford have avoided defeat in nine of their last ten matches

Bolton vs Oxford team news

Bolton
Carlos Mendes Gomes (Achilles) misses out but Jon Dadi Bodvarsson has returned for training and could be involved.

Oxford
Tyler Goodrham will be assessed after he was forced off during the first half of Oxford's 1-1 draw at Peterborough. Marcus McGuane came on for Goodrham at London Road and stands by to deputise.

Probable teams

Bolton (3-4-1-2): Baxter; Jones, Santos, Toal; Cogley, Maghoma, Thomasson, Williams; Sheehan; Charles, Collins.
Subs: Dempsey, Morley, Jerome, Adeboyejo, Bodvarsson, Ogbeta, Iredale.

Oxford (4-1-4-1): Cumming; Stevens, Moore, Brown, Bennett; Brannagan; Dale, Rodrigues, McGuane, Murphy; Harris.
Subs: Eastwood, Long, Leigh, McEachran, Bodin, Browne, Goodrham.

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