Bolton Wanderers V Stoke City – Saturday 19th September

Bolton Wanderers V Stoke City

Kick-Off: Saturday 19^th September – 15:00 GMT

Venue: The Reebok

Bolton Wanderers

League Position: 18th

Recent Form: LLLW

Bolton finally registered their first points of the season, after three failed attempts, and it came in the form of a thrilling 3-2 win away at Portsmouth. Gary Megson and his Bolton players capitalised on a Portsmouth club currently in disarray, with Pompey in a stage of complete rehabilitation in terms of putting a new squad together. However, nevertheless, Bolton have not only picked up their very first points of the season but also their first win, and it was an away success at that. Now Gary Megson returns home to The Reebok, a venue which has seen Bolton lose both of their two home fixtures thus far.

Although Bolton have lost both their opening home encounters we mustn’t not disregard the fact that both were by a one goal margin. They lost 1-0 at home to Sunderland, a game they were completely outplayed in, while they actually put up some stern resistance against Liverpool, albeit in vein, as Rafael Benitez’s side ran out 3-2 winners come the end. However, that defeat against Liverpool was their most recent home fixture and there were signs that Bolton were starting to feel more at home at The Reebok. Were Bolton to replicate a performance of that magnitude then Gary Megson’s side would go mighty close to notching up just their second win of the new season and give Bolton back-to-back league wins.

Stoke City

League Position: 8th

Recent Form: WLDWL

Stoke have more than double the amount of points then their opponents and have come away from each and everyone of their five completed fixtures with credit, with their most recent game at home to Chelsea another heartbreak tale for Tony Pulis and Stoke City.

Stoke’s performance against the league leaders was honourable as always but Stoke have a terrible knack of coming up short and in the game with Chelsea, Stoke always looked to be fighting a losing battle, despite actually losing the game via a 94^th minute Malouda strike. Stoke did do their best to close Chelsea down and get in their faces whenever possible but, when it boils down to it, Chelsea dominated the game and were deserving winners. However, credit where’s credits due, Stoke nearly pulled off another shock but will that so nearly result affect the Stoke players and knock back the early confidence that had seen Stoke pick up seven points in their opening four fixtures.

Stoke’s best results will come at home this season, that goes without saying. Both of their two wins thus far have come at The Brittania, where their loyal fans give their players a rousing reception and tremendous support in each game. However, Stoke will be without their 12^th man here and that could be huge in terms of how this game pans out. Stoke have already come away from two away trips with nothing to show for their efforts, losing 4-0 at Liverpool and drawing 0-0 with Birmingham, and this certainly has the potential to be another frustrating day out for Tony Pulis and Stoke City.

Head-to-Head:

Bolton W: 1 Stoke W: 1 Draws: 0

Home advantage proved the deciding factor when these two clashed last season, with Bolton winning 3-1 at The Reebok and Stoke winning 2-0 at The Brittania. With this mind, that should be a major positive for any potential Bolton backers.

Match Verdict: Bolton to WIN – 6/5 SkyBet

Bolton were handed a very easy opportunity at the weekend to land their first points of the season and they’ve been given another very winnable fixture at home to Stoke City. Stoke will try to assert themselves in this game by using their strength and height advantage, however, Bolton appear to have Stoke’s cards marked as Bolton boast similar attributes and, with Bolton having the vast majority of the support in the stadium, we expect Bolton to power towards their second consecutive victory.

Match Odds:

Bolton Wanderers – 6/5 SkyBet

Stoke City – 11/4 BlueSquare

Draw – 23/10 Bet365

SoccerBetting Tip: Kevin Davies to Score Anytime – 11/5 Boylesports