Wanderers have received advanced warning of Shrewsbury Town’s effectiveness from set plays ahead of this weekend’s visit in League One.

Matthew Pennington, the former Everton centre-half who has scored four times this season, has revealed how seriously Steve Cotterill’s side take their free-kick and corner routines.

Only Port Vale and Morecambe have scored a greater percentage of their goals from set pieces this season and Pennington says their preparation has been “meticulous” in his two years at the club.

“A lot of work goes into it,” said the 28-year-old. “I have been here two years now, and the gaffer is very meticulous on those sorts of areas.

“We work on them a lot, most weeks we are out on the training ground working on them because they can play such a big part in games by getting momentum.

“We have ideas and movements that we want to do.

“The manager has a lot of different set pieces that he likes to implement, and he changes them up all time. We have a few different ones.”

The Bolton News:

Wanderers have discussed the importance of the first goal in recent weeks, and Pennington believes Shrewsbury’s strength at set pieces has enabled them to nudge ahead in tight games.

“If you score a goal then you have something to defend, and if you don’t then you are struggling, and it brings pressure on yourself if you don’t score goals,” he added.

“They are so huge in any league but in this one even more so.”

Wanderers can expect to see plenty of possession on Saturday, with Shrewsbury seeing on average just 41.9 per cent of the ball in their 20 games so far. Wanderers are second to Ipswich in League One, averaging 56.6 per cent.

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