English Premier
2011-12-31 - Bolton vs Wolves
A Sports Betting Pick by Lamps
Football : England : Premiership
Saturday 31st December - Kickoff 3:00pm
Bolton
The good news is that Coyle's side are not bottom at Xmas, the bad news is that they are only 1 place better in 19th. The Wanderers only have 12 points from 54 and trail Wolves in 17th by 4 points. Whilst they can't get out of the bottom 3 a win would put them in a great position to do so in their next game. The best thing about this Saturday's game is that they face off against Wolves and this really is a "6 pointer".
Bolton recently won another relegation 6 pointer at Blackburn and that is their only win in 7 games. In the other 6 games Wanderers have lost all of them and the aggregate score of all 7 is 3-14. That's conceding on average 2 a game which in this division isn't good enough.
The home form is the worst in the league with 1 win in 8 all season. Only a jet-lagged Stoke have lost at the Reebok with visiting side winning the last 3 since that home win. In those 3 defeats it's a familiar tale of conceding 2 as Bolton lost 2-0 to Everton and Newcastle whilst losing 2-1 to Villa.
Bolton Team News
Alonso, Davis, Holden, Lee and Mears are missing whilst Gardner and Pratley remain doubtful.
Coyle will go with 2 up top most likely N'Gog and Klasnic as Davies misses out. Key centre back Cahill may be making his last appearance for the men in white as he completes a move to Chelsea.
The backline and midfield is unchanged from the midweek game as Bolton look to improve on their poor performance last time out in the home defeat to Newcastle.
Wolves
After their shock point at the Emirates, Wolves enter this game 4 points ahead of Bolton. A win at the Reebok will see McCarthy's side open up a nice gap from the bottom 3 but a loss could bring them right back into the scrap of things.
After suffering back to back defeats at United (4-1) and then to Stoke (1-2), Wolves have improved with back to back draws. The first draw was at home to Norwich (2-2) and as mentioned above, more recently at Arsenal (1-1).
McCarthy's side has built up a decent scoring record of late, netting in 11 of their last 13. Now that Fletcher is back there is an even bigger goal threat with the Scottish striker scoring 4 in his last 5.
At the other end the last Wolves clean sheet came back in August in a 0-0 away draw at Villa. Whilst Bolton are not the best scoring side at the moment, Wolves are giving up chances for fun. Arsenal on another day could have scored 5 or 6 whilst Norwich and Stoke scored 2 against them and before that United 4 times.
Wolves Team News
McCarthy will be without Kightly, O'Hara, Zubar and Milijas with Craddock the only doubt.
O'Hara and Zubar have been playing well and their losses will hurt the side. With O'Hara injured and Milijas suspended Henry will be partnered by Edwards, who whilst not being a first choice player can do a job against Bolton this weekend.
Up top Fletcher will start with Ebanks-Blake with Doyle once again on the bench.Johnson and Berra at the back were run ragged at Arsenal last time out but should find their afternoon a little easier against a struggling to score Bolton side.
The Betting Verdict
The last 9 meetings has seen Bolton win 6 of them losing just the 1. Somewhat surprisingly there is currently a 3 year run of unders but I see that coming to an end this weekend.
Wolves are scoring goals no matter the opponent and I see them scoring at the Reebok. Bolton know this is a huge game for them to bring Wolves back into the relegation mix whilst closing the gap for themselves.
I think both to score is the best bet for this game. The price is short but I can't back either defence to keep eachother out. Bolton are going for the win whilst 7 of the last 10 Wolves away games have had both sides scoring and I like that trend to continue on Saturday.
Good Luck
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bolton 2-2 Wolves
BEST BETTING TIP :
Take Both to Teams to Score at 1.733 with Ladbrokes
