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Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna says the squad is excited to go up against “a high-level opponent” in Wanderers on the opening day of the season.
The Whites kick-off the campaign with a trip to Portman Road, where they recorded a memorable 5-2 victory last term.
Ipswich have emerged as the bookies’ early favourites for promotion to the Championship, but McKenna is expecting a tough test against Ian Evatt’s men.
The former Manchester United coach – who took charge in December following Paul Cook’s departure - hopes being on home turf will help his side get off to a positive start.
“It’s an exciting fixture. Bolton are a really strong team who finished the second half of the season really well, so it’s a high-level opponent,” he told the club’s website.
“We are really pleased to be at home. We finished last season off at home against Charlton and there was a fantastic energy and atmosphere in the stadium. We’ll look to pick up where we left off with that.
“We spoke to the players earlier today and everyone is excited for Bolton in the first game, but Forest Green in the second would be the same three points.
“That’s the key mentality for us to have through the year. It’s a long slog of a season with a lot of tough fixtures and there’s going to be good days and bad days.
“We need to prepare as well as what we can and work really hard to make sure that we’re mentality and physically robust so we can then come out on top of that 46-game season with a good outcome.”
Wanderers held MK Dons to a 3-3 draw on the opening day last season, with Alex Baptiste scoring a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time.
The last time the Whites kicked off the campaign with a win was back in 2018 when Josh Magennis and Yanic Wildschut were on target in a 2-1 victory at West Brom.
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