English Premier
2011-10-22 - Bolton Wanderers vs Sunderland
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football : English Premier League
Saturday 22 October 2011 - Kickoff 3pm
Bolton Wanderers
Owen Coyle must have been a relieved man judging by his celebrations after Bolton Wanderers earned a big 3 points at Wigan last week. That moved the team outside of the bottom 3, although they have since returned there, and stopped a run of poor form in the Premier League, but there is still plenty of work to be done at the Reebok Stadium.
Bolton had moved out of the bottom 3 on Saturday evening courtesy of their win at Wigan, but West Brom's 2-0 win over Wolves on Sunday means the team is back down to 18th in the table. Bolton have lost all 4 League games played at home this season, scoring 4 goals and conceding 15, giving them the worst home defensive record in the whole League.
The team have played 10 competitive games this season and have won 4 and lost 6 of those, although their League form has been poor for some time. They have lost 11 of their last 13 Premier League games, losing their last 6 games at home since beating Arsenal 2-1 at the end of April.
Owen Coyle has no new injury worries and could very much play the same team that beat Wigan 1-3 last week.
Sunderland
I truly believe Steve Bruce will be sacked as manager of Sunderland if his side lose at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday, and I also believe the former Manchester United defender is well aware of the tenuous position he is in. A poor run of form coupled with the Niall Quinn move from the position of Chairman has left Bruce without friends in the boardroom and with a struggling club.
Sunderland lost at Arsenal last week and have fallen to 17th in the Premier League, and only clear of the bottom 3 thanks to a superior goal difference. They have a 0-2-2 away record this season, scoring 3 goals and conceding 5.
The Black Cats have just won 1 game in 9 competitive games this season, including a very disappointing defeat to Brighton in the Carling Cup. Sunderland have lost their last 2 away games in the Premier League, both 2-1, at Norwich City and Arsenal.
Titus Bramble remains suspended as he deals with allegations made against him, while Sebastian Larsson is suspended. Nicolas Bendtner should return to the side after missing the loss at Arsenal.
Head to Head
Sunderland have won the last 4 Premier League games against Bolton, 2 of those coming at home and 2 of those at the Reebok Stadium where they won 1-2 last season.
Bolton have not won any of their last 3 home games in the League against Sunderland.
Prediction
I considered backing Sunderland here to come away with a win, but I am not sure what the players are feeling mentally with all the pressure surrounding Steve Bruce and whether they want to fight for their manager.
Some of the recent performances Sunderland have put in does not suggest they are that keen to get going and it just looks like they are not listening to instructions and starting too slow in matches.
On the other hand, Bolton have been terrible in the Premier League since the end of last season and it is hard to feel comfortable backing them either, even though they put in a good solid performance to beat Wigan last week.
One thing that does stand out is the poor performance of both defences in recent games, with Sunderland conceding 6 goals in their last 3 games and Bolton conceding 15 goals in 4 League games at home this season.
Sunderland have also scored in 3 of their 4 away games in the League this season and it all points to seeing more goals this weekend.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Sunderland
