English Premier
2012-01-14 - Manchester United vs Bolton Wanderers
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 14 January 2012 - Kick Off 3pm
Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson was rightly fuming after Manchester United almost gave away a 0-3 lead at Manchester City in the FA Cup last week with a very disappointing second half performance. A couple of back to back defeats in the Premier League has set their title challenge back a little, but they can bounce back and put some real pressure on Manchester City with a win on Saturday.
Manchester United are 2nd in the Premier League, 3 points behind rivals City, but could move level with them at the top of the table with a win here. United have a 7-1-2 record at Old Trafford this season, scoring 30 goals and conceding 14 so only City have scored more home goals so far this season.
United could have picked up a lot of momentum after leading 0-3 at Manchester City last week at half time, but some of that was lost with a poor second half. The Red Devils had won 4 consecutive Premier League games before losing their last 2, conceding 6 goals in those losses against Blackburn Rovers and at Newcastle United.
Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Rio Ferdinand are all doubts for this game with injuries and illness and will need a late fitness test to determine their availability. Anderson should be available, but Ashley Young and Tom Cleverley are out, while Paul Scholes is unlikely to start.
Bolton Wanderers
The Gary Cahill saga continues at Bolton Wanderers and it looks like he won't be signing for Chelsea until after these Premier League games over the weekend, if he does at all. It leaves Owen Coyle in a bit of limbo as he can't prepare any new signings until he knows Cahill is gone, while Bolton are still trying to concentrate on securing their Premier League future.
Bolton are 18th in the Premier League, but they are now just 1 point from the safety zone after a 1-2 win at Everton 10 days ago. The Trotters have had much more success away from home than they have had at the Reebok Stadium, securing 8 more points on their travels than they have at home. Bolton are 4-0-6 away from home, scoring 14 goals and conceding 19 so far.
The team had a decent festive period, securing 7 points from a possible 12 to give themselves a real chance to survive this season. Bolton have won their last 2 away games in the Premier League to stop a run of 4 consecutive losses on their travels before that. Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have all beaten Bolton at home this season, each scoring 3 goals in those games.
Jussi Jaaskelainan remains a doubt for this game so Alex Bogdan could continue in goal. Ricardo Gardner is also a doubt, while I am unsure if Gary Cahill will be picked with his potential move to Chelsea getting a little closer.
Head to Head
Manchester United have won their last 8 home games against Bolton in the Premier League.
Last season this game finished 1-0 to the home side thanks to a late Dimitar Berbatov goal, and that was the first time in 7 games that United had not scored more than 1 goal at home against Bolton.
Bolton were beaten 0-5 at home against United earlier this season.
Prediction
The prices for the home win are very short in this game considering they have lost their last 2 Premier League games, while the Asian Handicap needs a 3 goal win for a full payout.
I think United are more than capable of winning this game, but there is no way I am willing to back them when these prices are so short. Bolton could be in a bit of trouble without their stalwart Gary Cahill potentially missing at centre half, and they have conceded a lot of goals when playing the better teams in the League this season.
Instead, I will have a small interest on Wayne Rooney to continue his scoring run from last week and being the first player on the scoresheet at 4.00.
Rooney is known for going on these scoring runs and this could be the start of another one and the price looks decent enough in an otherwise very shortened market.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Manchester United 3-0 Bolton Wanderers
