Arsenal vs Bolton Prediction: Routine win for the Gunners

After a couple of days to dust themselves down from their heated draw with Manchester City, Arsenal are back on home soil to face Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup third round.

The Trotters turned in an impressive performance at Reading at the weekend in League 1 as they won 5-2, as they look to put their difficult start behind them. Below you will find my Arsenal vs Bolton prediction, accompanied by match odds and team news.

Arsenal vs Bolton Odds

Arsenal are 1/8 to win this tie in 90 minutes, giving them an implied probability of 88.9%. Bolton are valued at 20/1 to win the match in regulation time, which gives them a theoretical chance of 4.8%. The draw is available at 15/2 (11.8%).

Both teams to score can be backed at 6/5 and over 2.5 goals is marketed at 4/11.

Arsenal's Kai Havertz has two goals to his name already in the Premier League. He is valued at 19/20 to score anytime or 4/1 to net the first goal in this clash.

Bolton forward Dion Charles netted a hat-trick at the weekend and he is priced at 4/1 to score at any stage during the match.

Football Odds

Team News 

Leandro Trossard was sent off on Sunday after picking up two yellow cards and he will serve his ban for this match. The likes of David Raya, Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori all went down with cramp at the Etihad Stadium. The latter two could be rotated but you feel Raya will be forced to play as alternate shot-stopper Neto is cup-tied, having already featured for Bournemouth in this competition in 2024/25.

Arsenal are still missing a few players due to injury and they are Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney.

Arteta could hand opportunities to the younger heads in his squad, including Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who picked up his first Premier League yellow card before even stepping out onto the pitch. Bukayo Saka was taken off at half-time at the weekend, so he could be fresh enough to start again on Wednesday night.

For Bolton, Ian Evatt will be pleased that his side picked up no fresh injuries at the weekend but former Gunner Jordi Osei-Tutu won't be in line for a reunion as he is receiving treatment for a knee problem. Carlos Mendes Gomes, Gethin Jones, Will Forrester and Klaid Lolos are also in the medical bay for the Trotters.

This cup tie could present an opportunity for veteran Scott Arfield to get some minutes, with the Scotsman being the only Bolton player over the age of 30 in the first-team squad.

Arsenal to win 3-0 @ 11/2

Arteta is likely to make alterations to the side that took on their Premier League title rivals, particularly as the players looked burned out at the end, but I still think whatever he puts out should see the Gunners through to the fourth round with relative ease.

Evatt could name a fairly strong XI on Wednesday but it wouldn't be at all surprising to see him rotate quite heavily as the Trotters have ground to make up in quest for promotion back to the Championship.

When it comes to squad depth, I wouldn't rank Arsenal as high as some of their rivals in the Premier League, but they could still be in line to name the likes of Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus from the off against their third-tier visitors, and those two alone can cause Evatt's men all sorts of problems.

It would be a good exercise for a few of the young squad members and it will give Arteta a good idea of how close or far away the youngsters are from being ready to compete in the top-flight.

Bolton will head here with a boost after picking up a much-needed win but ultimately this a huge step up from Reading and I expect the gulf in class to be evident on the pitch. There isn't much value in just backing Arsenal to win, so I have gone for a correct scoreline of 3-0.

Raheem Sterling anytime goalscorer @ 23/20

After arriving at Arsenal on transfer deadline day, Sterling has had to be patient for an opportunity to start for the Gunners.

I think his chance will come against Bolton, not just because Arteta will perhaps feel more comfortable with starting him in a game like this as he continues to get up to speed with how things operate at the Emirates, but also because with Trossard unavailable, his chances are looking very favourable.

With that in mind, I think he can mark his first Arsenal start with a goal, which will be both beneficial to him and his club. I touched on the Gunners' squad depth before, which has only weakened with the likes of Odegaard out injured for a period of time. Arteta is going to be demanding more from his core starters but also the experienced heads on the bench - and as a serial title winner, Sterling will be turned to on most occasions.

This match will be a great opportunity to get his confidence up and further adjust to Arsenal's style of play, and I believe we will see him get on the scoresheet as a result.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any EFL Cup or Europa League game on Wednesday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Thursday’s Europa League games.

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