Bolton's Starting XI vs. Queen's Park Rangers

And so it begins...

Owen Coyle's first line-up is posted, and there is no doubt the manager has been hamstrung by injuries to Stuart Holden, Lee Chung-yong, Sam Ricketts, and Tyrone Mears.  Tuncay will not be available as his work permit has not cleared.  Now I don't know Coyle's plans, but for me, all 5 of those players would be starting if they were fit.  So here is a look at what the gaffer has conjured up with our remaining squad players;

Newcastle United v Bolton Wanderers

It is a miracle of biblical proportions that this match finished 1-1.  Anyone who watched the action for any extended period of time would have expected a 5-5 goal-fest.  Johann Elmander was on the right wing again, a decision many people are questioning, but he ended up getting a Newcastle player sent off and actually had a pretty good match overall.

Once again though, all eyes were drawn to Daniel Sturridge.  This kid is an absolute beast.  Four goals in four for Bolton, and he does everything well.  Incredible skill on the ball, power, a good shot with both feet, creates chances for his teammates, and whenever he gets the ball I feel like the entire stadium comes to their feet, almost in expectation that something spectacular is going to happen.

Manchester City

Bolton will be visiting Eastlands this weekend, and it will be an interesting clash of styles between the Wanderers and the Citizens.  Bolton have shown themselves to be an attacking, free-flowing offensive club this season.  Man City, on the other hand, have been a very defensive-minded group, a tactical philosophy which has generated a lot of criticism for manager Roberto Mancini.

Just park in front of the goal...

City have 26 points from 15 matches, Bolton have 23, but they have gained their points in very different manners.  Bolton have outscored their opponents, a leaky defense allowing 22 goals, yet scoring for themselves 28 times, fourth most in the league, and only one goal behind mighty Chelsea.  Manchester City have only scored 20 goals, middle of the pack, but they have conceded a miserly 12 goals, 2 more than Chelsea, but 4 less than anyone else.

Chelsea v Bolton Wanderers

The Wanderers make the long journey down to London Tuesday, and the chances of them coming back in a good mood seem slim. Chelsea are at the top of the league, 1 point clear of Manchester United and 3 points ahead of Arsenal, and judging by their current form they have no intention of relinquishing that position. Bolton, on the other hand, have lost 3 in a row and only remain 5 points clear of the relegation zone because of other club's terrible form.

If I were Owen Coyle, I would use this match to experiment a bit. Bolton have not scored in (I believe) 8 of their last 11 league matches. It is time to try something new. We are likely to get anything from this match, so why not go for it. Put on a show, attack, attack, attack, and see what happens. To be fair, the problem has not been creating chances really, but putting the chances created on target. Here are some suggestions;

Attack wide with the fullbacks: Chelsea play very narrow through the midfield, and this is an area where they can be exploited, but Paul Robinson cannot be involved. I would play Gretar Steinnson at right-back and Sam Ricketts at left-back. They can both get forward, and there will be space to put balls into the box.

Ivan Klasnic. He is the only forward that we have who makes you feel like he is going to score every time he touches the ball. I think he could play off Elmander quite well, but Coyle, much like his predecessors, would sooner drink hot piss than drop Kevin Davies, so that will not happen, but I can live with Klasnic and Davies up top.

Move Jack Wilshere inside. Everyone keeps saying he will move inside eventually, just do it now. It worked when we did it with Stuart Holden, and I think Wilshere is a similar player. He will see more of the ball, and it will allow us to get some legitimate pace wide in the person of Vladimir Weiss. It is a very young, very attacking midfield, but I like it. Why not give it a try, we have nothing to lose.

Bolton Back-line

Wayne Rooney will probably be on the bench today for Manchester United, but truth be told, it is often the players like Dimitar Berbatov that give Bolton the most trouble. Rooney is active and physical for 90 minutes, so the defenders are focused on him for 90 minutes. Berbatov on the other hand, often drifts in and out of a match, and is not a very physical player overall. But he is supremely talented, and is always only 1 deft touch away from creating a chance for himself or a teammate.

There is also some upheaval in the Bolton defense. Right-back Gretar Steinsson is suspended. Sam Ricketts, who can play anywhere along the back 4, is returning from suspension. Central defender Gary Cahill is returning from 2 months out because of a blood clot problem. And left-back Paul Robinson is nursing an injury, although he is likely to be available.

If I were to guess, I would say Ricketts will play at right-back, Cahill in the middle with Zat Knight, and Robinson at left-back. Will that group be able to handle the Manchester United attack, I don't know. But hopefully we will make it interesting, and if we can make the title race a bit more interesting, and the relegation race a bit less interesting, then so be it.

Gretar Steinsson

He has had a good season for the most part. But the sending off against Everton was just stupid. Even if a forward is on a breakaway, he still has to keep his composure, beat the keeper, and do it before the other defenders get back. Steinsson could have just kept running next to Yakubu and made things difficult before he got a shot off. Instead the Icelandic defender got sent off, and gave Everton a free kick in a great position, which Arteta put in the back of the net.

On the whole Bolton played well, although very defensively, and you could argue they deserved a point based on the first 70 minutes, but once the red card appeared there was only going to be one outcome.