Tottenham Hotspur v Bolton Wanderers

Spurs have everything to play for (As in the brave new world of the Premier League, 4th place is everything) and Wanderers have nothing to play for (Hard to see the lads getting fired up to finish 14th as opposed to 16th).

This match could go one of two ways. Spurs could start like a house on fire and quickly establish their dominance against an indifferent Bolton team already thinking about summer holidays, or a loose and confident Bolton squad freed from the pressure of a relegation fight could spring a surprise. The former is far more likely. And the home team almost always wins this match-up.

Last week Owen Coyle gave Ivan Klasnic and Vladimir Weiss a chance to show what they can do. They responded by leading the team to a 2-0 halftime lead. The lead did not last, but it seems likely that those 2 players will get another chance from the beginning. I'd like to see some other fringe players given the opportunity to show what they can do in these final few matches.

I think this may be a very exciting, very attacking game. I am going for a 2-2 draw.

Loan Players

Jack Wilshere and Vladimir Weiss both spent the second half of the season with Bolton Wanderers thanks to loan deals from their parent clubs, Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively. Both are very young, and were not going to feature on clubs challenging for the league title and a Champions League spot. That statement will still be true next season, and that is what makes this interesting.

Owen Coyle has already stated that he would like to keep both players for another year.

Jack Wilshere has said he would be open to returning for another season if he cannot get into Arsenal's first team over the summer. Wilshere is very good, but he is at least a year away from starting for a team of Arsenal's caliber. I think the chances of Wilshere playing for Bolton next season are very good.

The situation is murkier where Vladimir Weiss is concerned. He was in the squad every week, and appeared in most matches, though sometimes not until very late. Two weeks ago he stated that he was very disappointed at his lack of opportunities and was looking forward to returning to Manchester City. Then he played a great second half against Stoke City and started the match against Portsmouth. Maybe he has softened his stance on returning after that.

Weiss and Lee Chung-Yong are very similar players. I am not sure if Lee is better, but he is certainly more experienced. I think his presence will probably be enough to prevent Weiss returning to The Reebok next season.

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 Wanderers v Aston Villa

This match-up has featured some great moments in the past, but this week Aston Villa and Bolton are both coming off of hammerings by title contenders. But there was a very different level of quality to the performance in these defeats. Bolton played Manchester United pretty tight last weekend, with a ridiculous own goal the only thing preventing the game being level at halftime. Villa, on the other hand, were absolutely shellacked by Chelsea. There are varying opinions on what effect those results will have on tomorrow's match.

Martin O'Neill has been saying for weeks that his players are tired, and they looked it against Chelsea. Fact is, the manager has only himself to blame. The squad he has built at Villa actually has a reasonable amount of depth, but O'Neill refuses to rotate his players, and this has cost him not only this season, but the past few seasons, as Villa have made great starts but faded late. His most significant injury worries are Gabriel Agbonlahor, James Milner, Richard Dunne, Emile Heskey, and John Carew. I think most of them will end up featuring, either on the bench or from the start. To me, Milner has been outstanding this season, and it will be a big blow if he can't play all 90 minutes.

Owen Coyle has been much more willing to rotate his squad, as he has named 18 different players in the starting XI since his arrival in late January. At this point though, with 6 games left in the season, we have a pretty good idea who he will start with. The goalkeeper is obvious, and has been for 12 seasons now. Zat Knight and Gary Cahill will start in the centre of defense, hopefully for year to come. Fabrice Mumba will sit in front of them, again, hopefully for years to come. Jack Wilshere and Lee Chung-Yong will play on either wing, and Kevin Davies will spearhead the attack along with Johan Elmander.

That leaves 3 positions of interest. It has been hard to get a read of Coyle's opinion regarding the fullbacks, because injuries and suspensions over the past 2 months have meant that Sam Ricketts, Gretar Steinsson, and Paul Robinson have all played together more often than not. Now that the back-line is healthy again, we will see who Coyle trusts for the run-in.

The other opening, an done that has caused a great deal of debate amongst Bolton supporters, is the second, more attacking, central midfield role.

Tamir Cohen has been the default choice, starting 25 matches this season. I think Cohen is a good player. He will not be nutmegging defenders and chipping the keeper after a mazy run, but he is a decent passer, a good defender, and has popped up with the occasional goal, although not recently.

A lot of supporters prefer Mark Davies, and he is quite a promising youngster. He played an absolute blinder against Arsenal in January, but Williams Gallas butchered his leg late in that match, and although Davies has featured a few times since then, the ankle has obviously bothered him and he prevented his reaching the same heights.

Ricardo Gardner has been very good in several central midfield appearances, but at this point in his career he is always injured. He has recently returned to training after a thigh problem, but I doubt he will feature in this one.

There are a couple other options, such as dropping Elmander into this role and starting Ivan Klasnic up front, or playing Riga Mustapha as the attacker in a midfield diamond, but those are unlikely. Some would like to see Wilshere moved into the middle and Vladimir Weiss given a chance from the start, but Coyle doesn't seem interested in giving Weiss that opportunity.

A draw would bring Bolton 6 points clear of the drop zone, while a win would push their cushion to 8 points with 5 matches to play. As for the clubs around them, Wolves are at Arsenal, where they will get nothing, and Wigan are at Fulham, where they can expect a point at best. West Ham are at Goodison Park, where they will lose, and Hull City are at Stoke, where a draw would be a good result for them, but is unlikely. Burnley host Manchester City, but I think they are just about relegated, and Portsmouth are already down.

Bolton Wanderers v Wigan Athletic

It's another relegation 6 pointer for Bolton as they host a Wigan side who are loaded with confidence after defeating Liverpool on Monday. Bolton have had to make some changes as Sam Ricketts is suspended.

Andy O'Brien (a disaster waiting to happen) comes into central defense, which does not bode well for the Wanderers.

Tamir Cohen returns from suspension and steps right into central midfield. Cohen has been solid, if unspectacular, this season. A large part of the support has not taken to him, but Bolton's best performances this season have come with him on the pitch.

Johann Elmander has been playing quite well, but still has struggled to find the back of the net, his fine strike for Sweden notwithstanding, and if he misses another tap-in this week the predictable groans and Ivan Klasnic chants from the moodier amongst the supporters will only serve to sap his confidence even further.

Speaking of moody, winger Vladimir Weiss is one again starting from the bench, which the 20-year-old will be unhappy about. I would like to see both he and Mustapha Riga get a solid chance to show what they can do, but injuries and red cards the past few weeks have prevented it.

As for relegation, Burnley and Wolves also face each other today, and they will be even more desperate than Wigan and Bolton for 3 points. We could see both these matches drawn, which is fairly common for these high pressure encounters, but if Wigan or Bolton manage to take all 3 points they will go a long way towards securing top flight football for next season. For me, the traditional 40 point threshold will put a club 13th or 14th in the table at the end of this season. A win for Bolton would give them 32 points, and while they should't pack up their boots and go on holiday if that happens, 32 points may keep you up this season.

Vladimir Weiss

This young winger was signed on loan from Manchester City in January on a six month loan deal. He made a couple appearances straight away, starting one match, and it looked like he was going to establish himself ahead of the other young midfielders at Bolton. He has plenty of pace, a few tricks, and an obvious desire to score goals.

The Slovakian was not the only winger brought in by Owen Coyle. Both Jack Wilshere from Arsenal and Stuart Holden from Houston are more experienced than Weiss and play on the wing, although Holden played in central midfield this past Saturday. Maybe the manager has decided that Weiss, of the three, is more effective as a change of pace off the bench. This is fine with me, as long as Coyle continues to play two out of the three along with Fabrice Muamba and Lee Chung-Yong, in an all under 25 and very attacking midfield, I believe Bolton Wanderers will end up in a decent position at season's end.

I would also think, given the size of the Manchester City squad and the extensive resources of the club, that if Weiss impresses there is a good chance that the loan will be extended through next season.