Bolton Wanderers play game number three of their pre-season schedule when they take on Stockport County tomorrow afternoon.
Ian Evatt will take his side to County's training ground for the behind closed doors fixture. The game kicks-off at 1pm.
Wanderers have won their first two games as they prepare for the 2022/23 League One season which starts at the end of July. They followed up a 9-0 victory against Longridge Town with a 3-1 triumph over Chorley over the weekend.
READ MORE: 'Why another one?' - Ian Evatt drops Bolton Wanderers transfer window hint in area of squad
Tomorrow's game sees Wanderers travel to take on County in a behind closed doors game. This is the case due to pitch renovation work taking place at both the University of Bolton Stadium and Edgeley Park.
Antoni Sarcevic could once again face his former side. The old Wanderers captain made the switch to the Hatters last October and was part of the Stockport side which knocked the Whites out of the FA Cup in first round replay, as Dave Challinor's side won 5-3.
Sarcevic went on to play 27 times for County last season and scored four goals in all competitions. The former Wanderers midfielder and County won promotion back to the EFL from the National League and will be in League Two in the 2022/23 campaign.
To get an idea of how Sarcevic has fared at County since moving from Wanderers last season, we asked Sam Byrne who covers the Hatters for MyStockport and the Manchester Evening News for his insight on how the former Bolton captain has done since the move to Edgeley Park and how big an impact he has made since joining the club.
Q: Overall, how has Antoni Sarcevic performed for Stockport since joining last October and how big a part did he play in helping the club winning promotion to League Two?
A: "He’s been brilliant. It probably sounds obvious given his calibre and where he came from, but he is in real ‘first name on the teamsheet’ territory for Stockport. He quickly became part of a consistent midfield three which proved crucial to County’s 20+ game unbeaten streak and never stops at both ends of the pitch. It showed that Stockport clearly missed him on the rare occasions that he was absent through injury or suspension."
Q: Where he has played for County most typically and how have the Stockport fans taken to him?
"He’s typically featured as a box-to-box midfielder in the engine room alongside two other non-stop midfielders in Ryan Croasdale and Will Collar. With how Dave Challinor likes to play - as we saw in the two Bolton ties last season - it was never going to be a case of one of his midfielders being simply a defensive midfielder OR an attacking midfielder, but being consistently active in both penalty areas.
"I know people around the club have been really impressed with Sarcevic’s stats, not just goals and assists and other technical stuff, but his running and ground covered etcetera. His commitment on the pitch has played a big part in the Stockport fans taking to him with ease, as it would have been easy for a proven EFL player to drop down and put in the minimum amount of effort just to collect a wage, but he’s been as consistently energetic and tireless out of possession as he has been top quality with the ball at his feet."
Q: Sarcevic has won promotion out of League Two several times, including with Bolton in the 2020/21 season - how big an influence will he be in the upcoming season for County and are Stockport expected to challenge for promotion out of League Two in the upcoming season?
"Absolutely, he’ll be pivotal. Stockport have signed a fair few midfielders this summer already, but there hasn’t once been a train of thought that Sarcevic would ever drop out of their best eleven. To have real leaders on the pitch who’ve been there and done it in League Two, and in the EFL in general, will be massive this season for Stockport.
"Sarcevic actually picked up a three-game ban for a controversial red card during the title run-in last season, and it was no coincidence that both performances and confidence in the side waned without him. Stockport are currently the bookies’ favourites for the League Two title - if they are to go back-to-back this season, it’ll most likely mean that Antoni Sarcevic will have had another excellent season."
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