WANDERERS know the course; it is now up to them to negotiate it.

Yesterday’s release of the League One fixture list allowed fans to plot their own map for following the Whites up and down the land, and theories to be hatched on where Ian Evatt’s side can gain, or lose, promotion momentum.

We asked three of our experts – chief football writer Marc Iles, co-host of The Buff Podcast, Henry Hewitt, and digital football reporter, Dan Barnes, for some of their thoughts and predictions.

Reaction to the fixture list

MI - I don’t think Wanderers can complain at all about their first five games, and even though Wigan Athletic are included in that run I do think it is advantageous playing them early on as opposed to when new signings settle. They are sure to be up there.

It is good to get a home game first up and even though trips to Lincoln and Fleetwood over Christmas sound decidedly un-festive, I don’t think the big games are grouped badly.

The run-in will definitely sort out the men from the boys – Reading, Portsmouth and Peterborough within a few weeks of each other in April. Go hard or go home.

HH – I saw the stat that was put out early this week and I think it was nine of the last 10 season that we’d started against a team that finished in the top six. I don’t know that much about Lincoln but I don’t think they will finish that high.

You look at three home games in the first four – Fleetwood are growing but I’d fancy us to beat them, we don’t know where Wigan will be at, but if they make signings similar to where we were under Keith Hill it might take them time to gel and it be a good time to play them. And, of course, we get to play Burton on a Saturday, finally!

DB - I think Ian Evatt will be fairly happy with the first few games and it is a chance for Wanderers to make a positive start and build some early momentum. It is also nice to have the derby match against Wigan early in the season, particularly with the home fixture happening first. The final month does look tricky though and could be make or break as the Whites aim to build on last season’s fifth-place finish.

How many points will Bolton get from the first six games?

MI - I am going to stick my neck out and say Bolton stay undefeated in the first six and take 12 points, three wins, three draws. I can see them beating Lincoln, Fleetwood and Cheltenham and drawing the others, especially Burton, which is a jinxed place at the best of times.

HH – Ian Evatt says that if you can average two points per game you’ll get promoted, so if you can get 10 points from the first five it will be fine. It would help if we could get above that because after that it is a tough September with Derby, Shrewsbury away that might get called off because it is on an international break, but then Reading and Port Vale away, Peterborough at home. That is hard.

DB - Lincoln and Fleetwood must be viewed as winnable home games and I’d also fancy Wanderers to pick up some points at Cheltenham and Burton. Derby looks set to be a tough one and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is as tight as the home fixture last season. Nobody really knows what to expect from Wigan but it is important that Evatt’s men handle the occasion and keep their cool.

Away day you are most looking forward to?

MI - I always like going back to Cheltenham – my hometown – and I get to do that in the August sunshine this season.

Loads of Wanderers fans will be itching to get tickets for Stevenage, which will be a new ground for most. Not me… Very much one for the collectors only!

HH – My wife is expecting our first child in mid-October, so naturally I looked to see who we are playing then. And her family are Barnsley fans. Guess who we are playing smack, bang in the middle of October. She wants the baby born there so they can play for Yorkshire Cricket Club.

It is an international weekend, so maybe that would bail me out. But I have to say that one, don’t I?

DB - Very much looking forward to Blackpool and Bloomfield Road. It is nice to have another derby match in League One this season and it is sure to be a cracking atmosphere. The fact it is just down the road is a nice bonus!

Predict which game will be the coldest

MI - Has to be Leyton Orient in January. Last time I was there, it rained incessantly, and we ended up circumnavigating the Olympic village on the way out, taking us miles out of our way on foot. I’m getting a taxi back to the station this time, whatever the weather.

Wanderers have to play at Carlisle in January too, but I get to go to Tebay Services, so it isn’t all bad.

HH – Blackpool is a strong contender. Leyton Orient and Carlisle will be cold and, let’s face it, the Toughsheet isn’t exactly the Bahamas. It will be bad in December. I think it tends to be the smaller stadia, so I will go for the Carlisle one because it is quite an open ground.

DB - I imagine Wycombe at home will be a cold one on a Tuesday night in February. I haven’t missed the feeling of struggling to type while slowly losing the feeling in my fingers. Still scarred from a game last season when I forgot to put on my thermal socks!

Predict the biggest margin of victory

MI - I’ll say Stevenage at home on a Tuesday night in October. But in truth, I’d settle for 1-0 wins all day, just so long as Wanderers mount an automatic promotion challenge.

HH – Wigan at home. I’m half-kidding.

DB - This is a tough one. Wanderers always seem to pull off a couple of big away wins each season, so I’ll take a punt on Carlisle at the end of January. Could easily have gone with Northampton away a couple of weeks later.

Predict the biggest banana skin

MI - Might be Burton, as normal, but those games over Christmas as Lincoln and Fleetwood look sinister. Bolton have struggled in the past when the weather has turned sour and the pitches churn up but hopefully they put that behind them this season.

HH – Wigan at home… Joking. I know Peterborough are a pretty big team but in terms of getting some revenge and stopping Bolton from getting promoted, it worries me a bit on the last day of the season. There will be a lot of expectation on Lincoln and Fleetwood at home, so anything less than a win will be a banana skin.

DB - As good as Wanderers’ home record has been over the last couple of seasons, they tend to come unstuck against at least one of the lower teams. It is hard to predict what the table will look like at this stage but I’ll go with Leyton Orient at home just before Christmas.