Manchester City ‘v’ Bolton – Preview

A season of underachievement and disappointment, yet at the same time full of excitement and eternal hope, comes to a conclusion this weekend, as the final Premier League match of the campaign sees Bolton Wanderers travel the short distance, 15.36 miles to be precise, to the hallowed turf of Eastlands, where they face Manchester City. The game has nothing but prize money resting on it, with neither side in any danger of relegation, nor any possibility of reaching Europe, but with an additional £760,000 awarded for every place higher up in the league that you finish, both teams, but Bolton especially, will be pushing for a win that would see them climb higher in the table.

It will be interesting to see if City can become the first side since Liverpool in 1963/64 to go through a whole season without having a home draw, whilst the Blues have failed to score in seven of their past eight meetings with Bolton. The visitors on Sunday have only been victorious once in the past ten Premier League matches, and have drawn their previous four games, whilst City are the only side in the league who have failed to record a goalless draw this season.

The last game of the campaign also marks the end of Thomas Cook’s six year relationship with the Citizens. Speculation is rife as to who the new main sponsor is, with highly regarded companies such as Umbro and Adidas rumoured to be in the frame. Saturday’s match will also mark the ten-year anniversary of City’s remarkable division two (now called League 1) play-off final at Wembley against Gillingham, so the heroes from that game, including Paul Dickov and Andy Morrison, will be paraded around the pitch before kick-off.

Now I have finally worked out how to use videos on here, I will take this opportunity to show you a video of the penalty shoot-out from that mesmeric match. The game has been taken to penalties after City scored twice in injury time to draw level.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCUSxMTI_Bo
Team News

Blues boss Mark Hughes faces the tricky decision of whether to field a full-strength side in the final match of the season, or whether he should hand starts to those who bid farewell this summer. Didi Hamann, Michael ‘It’s Hard To Play Football Without A …’ Ball, Danny Mills and Darius Vassell are just a number of those who will leave shortly, but the ever competitive Hughes is unlikely to give them one final chance to say goodbye. Sparky is without Shaun Wright-Phillips, who needs to undergo surgery soon, thus forcing him out of the reckoning for England’s qualifiers against Andorra and Kazakhstan, so Elano will start on the right wing presuming he overcomes his eye injury. It may be the last time that the Blues faithful witness the talents of the Brazilian at first-hand, with rumours suggesting he may be a high-profile casualty in the transfer market.

With nothing to lose, the ever-patient Berti, having received a year’s pay without actually doing anything, may be handed a start, as might Martin Petrov if Robinho remains on the sidelines. Stephen Ireland, voted this week as City’s player of the season, is struggling with a cold, while Felipe Caicedo, somehow voted as second in the young player of the year competition, is likely to be dropped in favour of Valeri Bojinov.

Bolton have a couple of injury doubts, but to be honest, who cares?

My Team (4-4-1-1)

                                                     Hart
Zabaleta                      Dunne                     Onuoha                      BERTI

Weiss                         de Jong                     Ireland                       Petrov

                                                    Elano

                                                   Bojinov 

Subs: Given, Richards, Bridge, Kompany, Robinho, Sturridge, Evans

The legend that is Berti should be handed a start, but probably won’t

Key Battles

Richard Dunne ‘v’ Kevin Davies

A battle that will comprise 29 stone of raw power, muscles and strength will see Bolton’s hugely underrated striker come face to face with one of his closest friends, Richard ‘Likes His Meat Well … ‘ Dunne. The Irish international could be making his final appearance for City, with speculation rife that Mark Hughes is in the market for another centre-half. It would be with more than a tinge of sadness if Dunne were to depart, as, despite the views of a plethora of City fans, he has represented the Blues superbly in the majority of his 298 performances, winning the player of the year award a record four consecutive times. He will undoubtedly enjoy this physical battle with Davies, who, despite a poor goalscoring return for a striker, is a huge threat to any side.  

Stephen Ireland ‘v’ Fabrice Muamba

The former Arsenal midfielder has had a solid, if not spectacular season, and will be looking to finish on a high when he comes up against the most improved player in the Premier League this year. Ireland has shown just what hard work can achieve and the Blues have certainly profited from his self-imposed international exile. He won the club’s main award this year, and with contract talks progressing smoothly according to Hughes, we may be seeing a lot more of this precocious talent in years to come.

Martin Petrov or Robinho ‘v’ Gretar Steinsson

If the Brazilian is fit, there is no doubt that he will start, but with lingering doubts, Petrov may be handed another opportunity, hoping to improve on his lacklustre performance against Tottenham in the previous game. He possesses raw pace, but it needs to be utilised in the correct areas, not in his own box! Steinsson, an Icelandic international, is a solid right-back, capable of scoring some long-range goals, so City’s defenders will have to keep an eye on him.

Steinsson is a more than capable defender who will pose the Blues a threat

Verdict: Man City 3 – 1 Bolton

In a carnival atmosphere, City will run out comfortable winners, with goals to be scored by Valeri Bojinov, Elano, Stephen Ireland and Kevin Davies.