Stuart pearce goes in to uncharted territory as he has the chance of recording four league wins on the spin during his 20 month tenure as City’s manager. The only problem being is that the game is away at Bolton where City’s record is not that great.
Vital Quotes:
Bolton – one of the teams of the season?
‘If you stop the season at this moment in time, I would say Bolton and Sam Allardyce have got a case to say; ‘We`ve been the best side in the country this season.` Man United would disagree a little bit, but not too many others would come forward and say they`ve done better,’ says Stuart Pearce
They`re a good side, well organised, they know how to play and have got a good manager.
and Stuart goes on to say;
olton have always played to the strengths of their players and are now consistently a top six or eight side and that`s a nice consistency to have. They keep achieving and it`s credit to Sam Alladyce for that.
He goes on to say that Anelka as we know can be world class on his day, but its not just about him;
Diouf`s a very good player and could grace most teams. You know what you`re going to get from Bolton, but there`s a lot of football in there with Gary Speed and Campo. Sam’s got a lot of good footballers.’
Bolton Wanderers Team News:
Ivan Campo returns for Bolton after suspension but Kevin Nolan (rib) faces a late fitness check and Quinton Fortune is a doubt.
Striker Henrik Pedersen remains sidelined with a calf problem and Abdoulaye Faye is banned.
Player to watch: Ivan Campo
Anelka or Diouf may be the match winner, but Campo makes them tick in midfield and is too often given too much time and space to do this.
Manchester City Team News:
Manchester City midfielder Joey Barton is available after suspension.
Hatem Trabelsi is struggling with a hamstring problem and Paul Dickov (toe), Dietmar Hamann (back) and Danny Mills (foot) remain sidelined.
City have also lost the services of Ben Thatcher this week and how likely Reyna is to be included in the squad with his likely departure over the pond who knows?
Player to watch: Joey Barton
Will have something to prove after his suspended absence and was outshone by Kevin Nolan at the Reebok last season, so will not want a repeat.
Match Facts & Stats
City have failed to score against the trotters in their last four attemps. Losing all four games. Although our record at Bolton in the premiership is on an equal footing with Bolton. Robbie Fowler was the last to score against Bolton in December 2004.
Ref Watch:
Andre Marriner – Books Barton & Dunne regularly and sent off Jordan at Everton last season in his one and only game for us that season.
Match Prediction:
City to score for first game in 5 – but still let Bolton win 2-1.
Next Fixtures:
Blackburn at home Sat 20th Jan on Sky 5:15pm kick off