Bolton welcome Sunderland to the Reebok Stadium on Saturday looking to make it back-to-back wins for the first time this season whilst the Wearsiders will be hoping to bounce back from last week’s 2-1 defeat at Arsenal.
The Trotters finally ended a sequence of six consecutive defeats with a morale boosting 3-1 win away at Wigan relieving the pressure that was growing boss Owen Coyle’s shoulders with every loss. They’ll need to stop the rot at home though where they’ve failed to pick up a point and are in danger of equalling a record set by this week’s opponents should their poor form at the Reebok continue. They’ve lost the last six on home soil and if they’re not careful they will reach Sunderland’s Premier League record of 10 consecutive defeats on home. The omens aren’t good though with the Black Cats doing the double over them in the last two seasons and coupled with Bolton’s poor form it could be a recipe for disaster. Fans have yet to voice their frustrations about results after tough opening which included playing five of the top six but defeat against the Wearsiders who are only above them in the table on goal difference won’t go down too well in the stands. Goalscoring has been a problem and despite having the highest shooting accuracy in the division at 55% they’ve scored only four goals at home. The loss of Lee Chung-Yong to injury and Daniel Sturridge in pre-season have taken away a large chunk of creativity and potentness in the final third. Summer signings Chris Eagles, Gael Kakuta, Tuncay and David N’Gog have yet to fully make an impact and Coyle will need to get them firing if Bolton are to climb up the table.
Steve Bruce has suffered similar problems at the Stadium of Light as he struggles to get his new recruits gelling and playing the exciting brand of football expected in the North East. Eight games into the season, six points and only one win speaks volumes and the noises coming from the stands are that supporters patience is wearing thin. With everything going right up the road at Newcastle the situation on Wearside couldn’t be any different. Despite that it seems Bruce’s job is safe and he’ll be able to take solace from the fact his side were unlucky against Arsenal last week. The Black Cats battled well and with a bit of composure up front they could have come away from North London with a well earned point. Unfortunately their attack isn’t as razor sharp as it used to be but with the return of Nicklas Bendtner this week will give Bruce more hope of seeing the goals fly in from open play with Sebastian Larsson’s free kicks their only means of scoring lately. A run of only four wins in 22 games isn’t ideal coming into this fixture but they do have a good record against Bolton having conceded only one goal in their last five meetings. The return of Phil Bardsley after suspension will shore up the left side of defence as they seek only their second win of the season.
Key Players
Gary Cahill – It’s been a poor season for the England defender so far with his form dropping in unison with Bolton’s. However he is still a key player at the Reebok and there is no doubting his abilities which will be tested up against Bendtner this weekend. The Dane is a tricky customer when he’s focused and Cahill will need to have his concentration finely tuned to deal with his threat.
Sebastian Larsson – One of Bruce’s more successful summer signings the Swede has looked at home on Wearside and his form belies that of the Black Cats. Three goals and some dynamic performances on the wing have provided a beacon of hope for Sunderland fans. His dead balls will be important this week with Nicklas Bendtner back in the side and hungry for service.
Chris Eagles also scored for Bolton and make EA SPORTS Player Performance Index team of the week after also covering 11.593km in the game. He is now Bolton’s top ranked player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index in 62nd place. Bolton covered 119.799km in total, with their other goal scorer Nigel Reo-Coker covering the most ground with 11.965km Sebastian Larsson’s third goal of the season catapulted him to 22nd place in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, making him the highest ranked Sunderland player The Swedish midfielder has also been contributing defensively, winning 84% of tackles
[ad_pod id=’unruly-2′ align=’left’]
