English Premier
2011-09-17 - Bolton vs Norwich
A Sports Betting Pick by Lamps
Football : England : Premiership
Saturday 17th September - Kickoff 3:00pm
Bolton
It's been a mixed start from Owen Coyle's side with 1 win from Bolton's opening 4 games. Those 3 points are good enough to see the Wanderers hold down 14th in the league.
Towards the backend of last season Bolton's form dropped horribly and they finished in the bottom half of the table when at one point were set for a top 10 finish. The start to this season isn't great and whilst at the moment it's enough to stay out of the relegation zone, Coyle knows his side must start winning they have a great chance on Saturday v newly promoted Norwich City.
As mentioned in previous previews the losses of Sturridge, Elmander, Lee and Holden have crippled this side severely and winning games has been a real problem for Bolton.
Coyle has transformed the way the side plays from a direct route one side to a pass it on the ground side and for parts of last season Bolton were a real threat. However, as mentioned above the form slumped and with just 1 win in 4 the pressure is certainly building for the manager.
To be fair to this side their opening fixtures have been brutal, Liverpool away (L 3-1), Man City home (L 2-3), Man United home (L 0-5) these 3 followed the fantastic 4-0 win at QPR on opening day.
It's hard to read into these results, United battered Bolton whilst City did for spells as well but gave Bolton some against the run of play goals. Liverpool were in complete control at Anfield and only a last minute goal when 3-0 down after a Carragher error let Klasnic in. Still the side seems to be scoring, failing to find the net in just one game whilst the defence has just the one clean sheet to boast. I think we will see some goals in this encounter on Saturday.
Team news is that Alonso, S Davies, Lee, Mears and Rickets are all missing with Holden and Gardner doubts. Holden has played for the reserves recently and this game may come too soon for him and Gardner appears to have shaken off a groin injury. After the loss to United Coyle has said he may shake things up but I'm not sure where he will make the changes.
Boyata will start at right back again with Wheater in alongside Cahill ahead of Knight. Davies may keep his place ahead of Muamba whilst Tuncay, Kakuta and N'Gog are pushing for starts. Petrov may give way for Tuncay out wide with Klasnic making way for N'Gog with Kakuta likely to again just make the bench.
Predicted Wolves Lineup:
Jaaskelainen, Boyata, Cahill, Wheater, Robinson; Reo-Coker, M Davies, Eagles, Tuncay; N'Gog, K Davies.
Norwich
The bad news for Norwich is that they are winless in 4 but they do have 2 draws and currently occupy 17th which if they finish there come May will delight manager Lambert. This week the Canaries visit Bolton in what looks likely to be an open game.
I saw the recent visit to Chelsea and I can vouch for Norwich first hand, they were excellent not happy to sit back, they came at Chelsea pulling some nice moves together and had it not been for a late penalty they would have earned a well deserved point.
What has been encouraging is that the side has scored in 3 of their 4 games this season only failing to scored against West Brom at home last time out. But when watching the highlights of that game it's hard to see how they didn't score and a late penalty wasn't given despite it being a stonewaller. Norwich must come to terms that in this league the "little" clubs often get screwed out of decisions but they need to bounce back and against a side that just lost 5-0 this looks a good time to play Bolton.
Whilst mentioning that Norwich has scored in 3 out their 4 games, unfortunately at the other end the side is yet to keep a clean sheet. They came close against Stoke as Norwich led until the last kick of the game when Jones scored a deflating goal to steal a point for Stoke. Bolton look like they are a wounded animal and will surely come out to attack so when we see this Norwich defensive record it's tough to see them keeping Wanderers out.
Team news is that Ayala and Ward are missing whilst Whitbread and Vaughan are rated as doubts. Striker Vaughan suffered a head injury last week against West Brom and looks set to miss this one whilst Whitbread's hamstring injury hasn't recovered in time for this one. We should expect to see Holt lead the line with Martin supporting and it's up to Surman and Crofts to provide the supply from midfield.
Predicted Norwich Lineup:
Ruddy, Naughton, Barnett, De Laet, Tierney; Johnson, Crofts, Surman, Bennett; C Martin, Holt.
The Betting Verdict
All 3 results I could make a case for in this one, Bolton looked hopeless last week whilst Norwich I feel deserved more than 2 points from their opening 4 games.
Instead I'm following the numbers, Bolton have scored lots of goals and Norwich have yet to keep a clean sheet. On the other hand scoring in 3 of the 4 games this season Norwich know where the net is and Bolton haven't kept a clean sheet since opening day, conceding 5 last time out.
I see goals in this one with the winner going either way, both teams to score makes the most sense to me.
Good Luck.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bolton 2-2 Norwich
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take the 1.90 on both teams to score at Ladbrokes before it goes. Some Bookies have this bet as low as 1.66!
