Bolton Wanderers learn their first two Papa John's Trophy opponents

Wanderers will face Crewe Alexandra and Tranmere Rovers in the 2022/23 Papa John’s Trophy group stage.

The Whites have been paired with the duo in Group B and will be joined by one of eight academy teams after Thursday’s draws.

Crewe finished bottom of League One last season, winning just seven league matches in total.

Meanwhile, Tranmere placed ninth in League Two last term and missed out on a place in the play-offs by just two points.

Ian Evatt’s men reached the last 16 in last year’s competition after recording wins against Port Vale, Rochdale and Liverpool Under-21s.

However, the Whites missed out on a place in the quarter-final after suffering a late 1-0 defeat at Hartlepool.

The academy teams will be drawn into their groups at 11:30am on Thursday, June 23 and the draw will be broadcast live on Sky Sports News.

Here is a list of the academy teams Wanderers could be drawn against in Group B

It has also been confirmed that the Whites will be number six in the upcoming Carabao Cup first round draw, which takes place at 2:30pm on Thursday.

The first-round ties of this year’s competition will take place on the week commencing Monday, August 29.

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