Bolton Wanderers V Blackburn Rovers Betting

 

Bolton Wanderers V Blackburn Rovers

Kick-off: Sunday, 12th December – 13:00 (GMT)
Venue: Reebok Stadium

 

Bolton Wanderers

This season’s surprise package, Bolton Wanderers, suffered their first setback in over a month when losing 1-0 away to Manchester City last time out. A difficult run of fixtures now awaits Owen Coyle’s side, starting with Saturday’s Lancashire derby with Blackburn Rovers, and Coyle is expecting a winning response from his players they seek revenge for their 2-0 reverse in the last meeting between the two sides at The Reebok.

Few would undermine the tremendous work former Burnley manager Owen Coyle has done in converting the Trotters from a boring, route-one type of side into a team who make the game appear so pleasing on the eye. I also don’t remember a previous Bolton side racking up as many goals at this time in the season, with Coyle’s fine-tuning of the Bolton attack working wonders with immediate affect as the Reebok outfit have amassed 28 goals in the league this season; more than Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. However, because of Bolton’s new-found love for the attacking football, an alarming amount of goals have been conceded at the other end and it’s something Coyle may aim to correct during the January transfer window.

Rumours that key-players like Gary Cahill, a defensive linchpin for the Trotters this season, could be about to leave The Reebok in January is heartbreaking to here as Bolton are only a solid defence away from being a formidable little outfit. Offensively they are right up there with the very best, and the statistics would back this up with only four teams having scored more than them this season. However they remain a little suspect at the back, and that stats also back this up too. After 16 rounds of hard-fought league matches, Bolton have only one clean sheet to their name while they’ve conceded in their previous fifteen league fixtures stretching back to the opening day of the season.

Owen Coyle won’t have been pleased or encouraged with his side’s performance away to mega-rich Man City last weekend despite his side only going down 1-0. The worrying aspect was how easy their opponent’s carved out chances, with the crossbar coming to the aid of Bolton on numerous occasions. Fortunately for Coyle, combative midfielder Stuart Holden, who has been attracting plenty of interest after an impressive start to the season, will return to the starting fold after missing Bolton’s last two matches, incidentally games where Bolton have conceded three goals and failed to win. Holden, an American international, is an integral part of the Bolton machine and Coyle is hopefully his return will bring some solidity to a midfield which has been overrun of late in his absence.

 

Blackburn Rovers

It has been another steady season from Blackburn up till now, with the Lancashire outfit now on the verge of breaking into the top-ten as they continue to flirt with the upper half of the table. New owners have already laid down their marker with claims that the club should at least be aiming for a top-ten finish as well as one which plays attractive football. Even though the latter appears an impossible task, the chicken sellers will nonetheless by delighted with the progress the team has made under their short leadership as Sam Allardyce continues to squeeze results out of a team with limited potential.

Although we’ve given him enough praise over the years, Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce, who is renowned for his eye for a bargain in the transfer windows, often gets overlooked. It doesn’t help that he’s manager of a mid-table side which overachieves when it does actually finish middle of the table, while the fact Rovers play some horrendously dull football isn’t a huge seller either. But his achievements are outstanding considering, and his abilities as a manager, as a motivator and leader were highlighted during last weekend’s rout of Wolves.

Any other team would have buckled under the pressure and hid away following a battering the week before, with Rovers meeting Wolves at Ewood Park straight after being walloped 7-2 at Old Trafford by Man Utd, so for Blackburn to etch out an immensely impressive 3-0 win was astonishing even if it was against 19th Wolves. In fairness, Blackburn didn’t exactly overwhelm the Midlander’s but they were so emphatic with their finishing, uncharacteristically so. All three of their goals were taking with confidence and after putting their Old Trafford woes seemingly behind, Blackburn are now setting their sights on Saturday’s trip to The Reebok to face the team of the moment Bolton.

On their last visit to The Reebok, Blackburn Rovers ran out impressive 2-0 winners and were thoroughly deserving of all three points. The same result this weekend would be a sensational outcome for the team who trail the Trotters by five positions, especially as Bolton have been playing some majestic football this season and haven’t been shy in collecting spoils either. It would be even more of a turn up for the books considering Blackburn have been well below par in their previous two road trips, conceding a staggering eleven goals in visits to Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United and even though Bolton aren’t quite held in the same regard as the aforementioned teams, the Trotters have been a force to be reckoned with in front of goal this season particularly at home, where they’ve lost just once all term.

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Recent Form (Last 5 Matches):

Bolton Wanderers

Premier League: Manchester City 1-0 Bolton Wanderers
Premier League: Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Blackpool
Premier League: Bolton Wanderers 5-1 Newcastle United
Premier League: Wolves 2-3 Bolton Wanderers
Premier League: Everton 1-1 Bolton Wanderers

Blackburn Rovers

Premier League: Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Wolves
Premier League: Manchester United 7-1 Blackburn Rovers
Premier League: Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Aston Villa
Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 Blackburn Rovers
Premier League: Newcastle United 1-2 Blackburn Rovers

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Head-to-Head:

2009/2010: Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Bolton Wanderers
2009/2010: Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Blackburn Rovers
2008/2009: Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Bolton Wanderers
2008/2009: Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Blackburn Rovers
2007/2008: Blackburn Rovers 4-1 Bolton Wanderers
2007/2008: Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
2006/2007: Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
2006/2007: Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Bolton Wanderers
2005/2006: Blackburn Rovers 0-0 Bolton Wanderers
2005/2006: Bolton Wanderers 0-0 Blackburn Rovers

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Statistics (Premier League ONLY):

Bolton Wanderers

League Position: 6th
Win/Draw/Lose: 5-8-3 (Home: 3-4-1)
Form: DWWDL (Home: WLWWD)
Goal Difference: 28-23 (Home: 17-11)
Top Goalscorer: Johan Elmander (8)

Blackburn Rovers

League Position: 11th
Win/Draw/Lose: 6-3-7 (Away: 2-1-5)
Form: WLWLW (Away: LLWLL)
Goal Difference: 21-25 (Away: 10-19)
Top Goalscorer: Morten Gamst Pedersen (4)

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Match Prediction: Bolton Wanderers to WIN – 2.10 WilliamHill

Rovers boss Sam Allardyce is still without several key midfielders through injury but does at least have veteran David Dunn back in contention, with the vastly experienced but so often injury-prone Dunn scoring his first goal of the season during Blackburn’s 3-0 rout of Wolves last weekend. His opposite number however, Owen Coyle, could welcome a player which has held down the midfield fort all season long, almost single-handily in American Stuart Holden. The Trotters have been lacking a bit of steel in the centre of the park recently, dropping points in the previous two matches in which Holden hasn’t been available, and so his return will be timely although Coyle won’t want to rush him ahead of a busy December schedule.

Everyone has a bogey team, there are no exceptions, and for Bolton, Blackburn Rovers are that team. The Ewood Park outfit did the league double over Bolton last season when winning 3-0 at home and 2-0 at The Reebok, but it’s the sheer fact that Blackburn haven’t lost a single one of their last seven league meetings with Bolton which left me dumbstruck. Furthermore, Rovers have secured victory in three of their previous four league visits to Bolton, a statistic which doesn’t do the hosts any favours considering Blackburn are generally a dismal away outfit and have suffered four defeats in six on their travels this season.

If you were to put the statistics in the cupboard then Bolton would come out of our winning machine as winners. Their football this season has been utterly sublime at times, a number of their players are bang in form while they’ve made a breathtaking start to the season which has seen them lose just three of their first sixteen clashes and climb to sixth in the table. Granted they have come off the boil a little of late, drawing with Blackpool in their most recent home encounter while a 1-0 defeat away in Manchester to City ended their five-match unbeaten streak. Nevertheless, the Trotters have been the ones making all the headlines this season.

To their credit, Blackburn haven’t being too bad either. They’re up to eleventh in the table, a win on Sunday would see them creep into the top-half, and have lost just two of their last six league contests, four of which were wins. However, it would be wrong of us not to mention that both those defeats came on the road, and that both were heavy: Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 & Manchester United 7-1. But they bounced back last weekend with an emphatic 3-0 win over Wolves in Lancashire and with an overwhelming head-to-head working in their favour, they shouldn’t be discounted.

We’re going with this season’s most improved side though, Bolton Wanderers. Hopefully Holden returns as Bolton need someone to thwart opposing attacks, but they have two forward in tip-top shape in Davies and Elmander and even though Blackburn are well equipped to handle the aerial threat of Bolton, they aren’t strong enough on the floor to keep up with Bolton’s exciting brand of passing football.

 

Match Odds:

Bolton Wanderers – 2.10 WilliamHill
Draw – 3.40 BetFred
Blackburn Rovers – 4.00 Bet365

 

Bolton Wanderers V Blackburn Rovers

 

Kick-off: Sunday 22nd November – 13:30 GMT

Venue: The Reebok

TV Coverage: Sky Sports 1

 

 

 

Bolton Wanderers

 

League Position: 16th

Recent Form: DLWLL

  

Gary Megson has been hit with a double dose of good fortune as not only did Jussi Jaaskelainen confirm his retirement from International football with Finland but also that Johan Elmander is back in the goals and on fire! Well, the former is all true, the latter, however, is half a lie. Those typical Johan’s, you drop them from the starting line up and they come on and score a match saving late goal. Again, another lie, as Elmander’s first strike in over a year came in the 5-1 mauling away at Aston Villa, of which Bolton were, of course, on the wrong side of.

  

Bolton’s league position of 16^th won’t stun too many footballing folk but they are, after two difficult games it must be said, in a pointless rut after two emphatic defeats. The international break will have been a godsend to Gary Megson as it has allowed his side to recuperate before the arrival of a Blackburn side in close proximity. This is the type of fixture Gary Megson circles on his Ferrari calender as a day ‘I just might smile’.

  

Bolton are a million miles off those spending big sums of lolly and that has shown already this season, with defeats against Liverpool (2-3), Man Utd (2-1), Chelsea (0-4) & now Aston Villa (5-1). Some were close, others were separated by the width of the Nile. Still, Bolton, in the realistic world, were never going to be able to compete with those sides but they did show battling qualities in some, mainly the ones where they didn’t get a good spanking. However, now is the time when Bolton have no excuse cards to use up as a home fixture with Blackburn Rovers is an early gift wrapped present from Santa himself for those Reebok wearing Bolton fans to pick up a vital set of three points, points that would enable them to drive away from the point craving bottom pack.

  

In the crunch games against those teams around them, Bolton do tend to come good as they know what is at stake. A victory over Blackburn would not only give them three points, and some breathing space over the bottom three, but also the chance to mock former gaffer, Sam Allardyce. The latter will be more for the fans than those actually at Bolton but still, the message is clear, this is a huge game for Bolton and one they have to win at home. A venue which has seen them earn just six points from a possible fifteen.

 

 

 

 

Blackburn Rovers

 

League Position: 14th

Recent Form: LWLLW

  

‘Sammy Claus’ is coming to The Reebok on Saturday, although, we don’t think he’ll set up shop outside the stadium in his ‘Alla grotto’. ‘Big Sam’ does actually have the makings to be a fine Santa but he would prefer to be the tight fisted old Granddad figure this weekend by claiming all the spoils at his former home. Sam Allardyce, though, will need to put on a stern front as he embraces The Reebok once again, probably to a bitter cold reception, but the news that South Africa coach, Carlos Perreria, has hinted that Benni McCarthy needs to move on during January to enhance his bid to make the South African fold, will have made Sam’s blood boil, so perhaps ‘Big Sam’ isn’t so cold hearted after all. 

 

Blackburn’s strike force is already a limited edition collection so ‘Big Sam’ can ill-afford to drop any more offensive numbers, especially during such a difficult period in the season. With that said, Benni McCarthy hasn’t exactly been at the forefront of Sam’s selection mindset after starting just one game this season, making four cameo appearances from the bench, spending just 175 minutes on the pitch. Good old Benni did have an injury setback at the start of the season but he has been available for a while now but frustration could be growing inside of him as less pitch time could result in him hinting at a possible move over Christmas, and it’s not to go live with ‘Sammy Claus’.

  

Blackburn are a side in all sorts of troubles on the road. Allardyce has took his cub scouts, more formerly known as Blackburn Rovers, on five camping ventures this season, losing all five, most of which were resounding. Sunderland (2-1), Everton (3-0), Arsenal (6-2) Yes, Rovers did score TWICE, Chelsea (2-0) & Man Utd (2-0). There is no need to double check, Blackburn did somehow manage to score twice at The Emirates.

 

Rovers are pointless on the road this season, but what is more alarming is their inability to score goals away from Ewood Park. With the exception of their trip to The Emirates, Blackburn have score just the solitary away goal, hence why we referred to Blackburn as ‘campers’ above. They show no intent, will, endeavour, whatever you may want to call it, when playing away from home and simply refrain from striding froward by setting up camp in their own penalty box. Albeit they have had some tough away trips of late, ones which probably would have seen them thumped even more emphatically were it not for their negative tactics, but if you’re going to receive a battering then you may as well embrace one knowing you gave it a blooming good go.

 

  

 

Head-to-Head:

 

Bolton Wanderers W: 2 Blackburn Rovers W: 4 Draws: 4

 

At first glance, the head-to-head between the two looks deceiving, especially from the Bolton corner. At The Reebok stadium, Bolton have failed to beat Blackburn in seven meetings, stretching back nearly nine seasons. In that time, Blackburn have won on three occasions, with the remaining four all ending in a share of the spoils.

 

Strangely enough, Bolton’s better fortunes in previous clashes with Rovers have come on the road, winning on three of their last six visits to Ewood Park, the home of Blackburn Rovers. That statistic doesn’t really affect the outcome of this game though as Bolton’s home record against Blackburn looks dire.

 

  

 

Match Verdict:- Bolton Wanderers to WIN – 2.25 BetFred

 

With regards to our rant about Blackburn’s away intentions above, we doubt they will be so defensive as they were in their previous two away outings but still, those negative approaches to the game must have hindered their attackers. Very little of those games were spent in the opposing half so you would be fine for thinking that their strikers wouldn’t be as sharp as you would like or need. Bolton, however, put their all into every game, regardless of who they are playing or whether they will probably get well and truly smashed. Bolton have shown a lot more intent in their games to make us think that they actually want to win this game, a whole lot more than a poor travelling Blackburn.

 

 

  

Match Odds:

 

Bolton Wanderers – 2.25 BetFred

Draw – 3.30 Bet365

Blackburn Rovers – 3.60 SkyBet

 

 

 

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Matthew Taylor(Bolton) Anytime Goalscorer – 4.30 PaddyPower

 

 

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Full-Time: Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Blackburn Rovers

 

Goalscorer(s): David Dunn, Sam Ricketts O.G. (Blackburn Rovers)