Stoke City v Bolton Wanderers – Preview

  With confidence and momentum on the back of Sunday’s incredible late comeback to gain a 2-2 away draw at Champions League chasing Aston Villa, goals coming in the 88th and 91st minutes, Stoke play host to an improving Bolton side in an important Premier League encounter at the Britannia Stadium tomorrow night.

  The two sides met on the first day of the season at the Reebok Stadium, that being Stoke’s first ever Premier League game, with Bolton running out comfortable 3-1 winners. It is fair to say since then that neither club has enjoyed the easiest of seasons, while Stoke have been in or around the relegation places all season, Bolton have never been too far ahead, and were tipped as possible relegation candidates before a good recent run of form has seen them move into the top half and seemingly away from danger.

Ricardo Fuller scored Stoke’s first ever Premier League goal, a late consolation, on that day

  While it’s a huge bonus to be picking up results from away games like Villa, it will ulimately be home form that decides whether or not we stay up in the Premier League this season, meaning tomorrow’s game is far more important than Sunday’s was in the scheme of things. With all the other teams in the relegation mix either playing tonight or tomorrow, there is also a little extra spice to this midweek round of fixtures, particularly owing to the difficult opposition that some of the sides have to face; Portsmouth playing Chelsea, West Brom facing Arsenal and Middlesbrough having to travel to Tottenham.

  Key Stoke duo Abdoulaye Faye and Thomas Sorensen, who were doubts for the game with back and head injuries respectively, seem likely to pull through, which is a big boost, particularly as Faye will be keen to perform to his brilliant best against the clubwith which he started his career in English football. Stoke also have Rory Delap, and the long-throw factor that comes with him, available after more than a month out suspended, but his fellow winger Matthew Etherington will miss the game, it being the last of his three matches suspended after his sending off at Sunderland three weeks ago.

  The Trotters have no new injury worries ahead of their trip to Stoke, though Stoke forward Ricardo Fuller’s Jamaican international teammate could well start after scoring the winner in Bolton’s 1-0 triumph over Newcastle two days ago, just two minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute.

  Under former Stoke manager Gary Megson, Bolton have retained the direct style of football they used so effectively under Sam Allardyce in their early Premier League seasons, though with some quality players in the ranks, including the likes of Fabrice Muamba and Swedish forward Johan Elmander, they have integrated a little more aesthetically pleasing football into their play.

  It should be interesting to see how Tony Pulis’sequally direct Stoke side face up against Bolton, a club who we are surely modelling our plans for the immediate future on. With a goal difference of minus eight, theLancashire club have a soft centre that we must try to exploit, and with James Beattie firing on all cylinders and Fuller back from injury and apparently ready to try again, we have every chance of doing so. While it certainly won’t be a game for footballing purists, it should be an intruiging one nonetheless, and one in which a win would be very useful to pull us away from the relegation zone, with most of our nearest rivals having very tough fixtures.

Key Battles:

James Beattie v Gary Cahill
Beattie will be keen to add to his growing tally of Stoke goals tomorrow night, though he will have to get the better of promising centre-back Gary Cahill, who scored against Stoke, and played alongside Beattie while on loan at Sheffield United last season, if he is to do so.

 

Rory Delap v Gretar Steinsson
On his return to the Stoke side, Delap will most probably play on the left-wing where he will face up against Bolton right-back Steinsson, who scored one of their three against Stoke in the return fixture. Just before getting himself stupidly suspended for kicking the ball at Manchester City’s Shaun Wright-Phillips, Delap was really making in impact for Stoke and not just with his throws, so he will be looking to pick up where he left off. His throws do, of course, help.

 

Ryan Shawcross v Kevin Davies
Davies has really come into his own (how dirty does that sound!) as a forward this season, scoring ten Premier League goals so far. Shawcross will have his work cut out to win the aerial battle against him, and will have to use every inch of his 6’5” frame to his advantage. One thing he should have is confidence though, after scoring his first of the season at Villa.

 

Bolton Squad:

Goalkeepers:Jussi Jaaskelainen (33), Ali Al Habsi (27), Adam Bogdan (21)

Defenders: Gary Cahill (23), J’lloyd Samuel (27), Matt Taylor (27), Gretar Steinsson (27), Sebastien Puygrenier (27), Andy O’ Brien (29), Danny Shittu (28), Nicky Hunt (25)

Midfielders: Fabrice Muamba (20), Gavin McCann (31), Ricardo Gardner (30), Joey O’ Brien (23), Mark Davies (21), Tamir Cohen (24), Chris Basham (20), Robert Sissons (20)

Forwards: Kevin Davies (31), Johan Elmander (27), Ebi Smolarek (28), Mustapha Riga (27), Ariza Makukula (27), Ricardo Vaz Te (22), James Sinclair (21), Temitope Obadeyi (19)

Star Man: Kevin Davies
Davies, who is club captain at Bolton has stepped into the role as main man since Kevin Nolan’s departure to Newcastle in January. The 31 year old forward, who is the definition of a handful, began his career at Chesterfield before moving to Southampton, Blackburn, back to Southampton and finally to Bolton in 2003, via a loan spell at Millwall, scoring goals wherever he has played, including an artful flick header against Stoke back in August. Though he’s never received a full England cap, he has represented his country three times at Under 21 level.