Bolton Wanderers v Manchester City,
Barclays Premier League,
Sunday 2 November,
The Reebok Stadium, 4pm Kick-Off.
Following the undeserved midweek defeat to Everton, Bolton tackle Manchester City at the Reebok Stadium on Sunday afternoon in Sky's live televised game.
Bolton currently lie second from bottom in the Barclays Premier League but three points against the Citizens should take the Whites out of the drop-zone, depending on results elsewhere.
After the encouraging display in midweek, the Whites will be looking to end a ten game winless run against fellow North West opposition, a streak which stretches back to last December when Wigan were demolished 4-1 at the Reebok.
The occasion is set to be a landmark day for Jussi Jaaskelainen, who if selected, will be making his 400th appearance in a Bolton shirt.
Ahead of the game, Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has called for his side to become more consistent following a draw, a win and a defeat in there last three games.
Speaking to the Manchester City's official website, the City boss said: "We've got a campaign in Europe that we're excited about but the Premier League is our bread and butter. So we have to step up to the mark and make sure that we perform at a consistent level.
"At the moment we're a little bit in and out and that's a frustration for us because we know we've got talented players in the team and when we play well, as we've seen, we can play some fantastic stuff."
Last season this fixture ended goalless, but on the overall head-to-head statistics, Bolton have recorded 44 wins compared to Manchester City's 47. There have been 25 draws.
The referee will be Mike Riley, who last officiated Bolton in the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal last season. In the ten games that he has taken control of in this campaign, he has flashed 35 yellow cards and sent-off two players - Portsmouth's Sean Davis and Everton's Tim Cahill.
Team News
Gavin McCann is back available for Bolton after serving a one-match suspension, while Kevin Nolan will play the last game before he sits out the trip to Hull next weekend because of five bookings attained so far this season.
Should Mark Hughes pick the same side that lost at Middlesbrough then Tal Ben Haim will be set for a Reebok return with Wright-Phillips, Robinho and Sturridge leading the line for the visitors.
Opposition Manager - Mark Hughes
'Sparky' became the boss at Eastlands this summer, taking over from Sven Goran Eriksson, who had been sacked after a solitary year in command.
A tough centre-forward in his playing career, Hughes first made the step into management with the Wales national team in 1999. When he took the reins, Wales were going through a sticky patch, but five years later and he had taken the team to within reach of qualifying for Euro 2004. In their qualifying group they beat Italy but were denied a place in the competition after losing to Russia in the Play-Offs.
A move to Blackburn Rovers, his last club as a player, beckoned shortly after and he succeeded in keeping the Lancastrians in the top-flight in his first season. He built a solid team at Ewood Park with his major player acquisitions including David Bentley, Roque Santa Cruz and Benni McCarthy.
Two FA Cup semi-finals and qualification for the UEFA Cup represented a great achievement for Hughes in the four years he had as Blackburn boss, but the lure of Manchester City was too hard to resist in the summer.
On his appointment Hughes outlined his desire to make the Mancunians a major force in world football, saying: "The ambition of the club is to challenge at the top table - not only in this country but in Europe. If we get the right players in right positions it is more than realistic."
Key Player - Robinho
Despite the abundance of talent within the Manchester City squad, at present there is one particular player grabbing all the headlines.
That man of course is Robinho, the Brazilian forward, who joined the Citizens in the final minutes of the summer transfer window a couple of months ago for a club record fee of £32.5m
Blessed with flair and trickery, Robinho shot to fame as a teenage prodigy with Santos in his homeland where he won the Brazilian title as a fresh faced 17-year-old.
After three seasons with the club, he became one of the most sought after talents in world football and it was no surprise when Spanish giants Real Madrid secured his services at the start of the 2005/06 season.
Three seasons in Madrid reaped 35 goals from 131 appearances, including two La Liga titles. However despite this wealth of success, Robinho made his intentions clear that he wanted a move away from the Bernabeu this summer, with Chelsea looking his likely destination up until the eve of the transfer window.
But a dramatic 24 hours at Manchester City witnessed new Arab owners take control at Eastlands, who had millions of pounds to spend on new players. Manchester City were linked with a host of world class players on deadline day and so the story unravelled that they had a last-gasp bid for the Brazilian accepted.
Robinho penned a four-year deal with the Citizens and became an instant hero with the blue side of Manchester. His career in England has got off to a fantastic start as he has found the net on six occasions, including a hat-trick against Stoke City last weekend.
Betting
To get all the best odds for the game, visit our official betting partner Bet2Go. Wanderers are best priced at 7/5 to take maximum points, while Riga, who played his first 90 minutes for the club in midweek, is available at 9/1 to score the opening goal.
If you fancy a punt on a correct score bet then 3-0 to Bolton is 50/1 with odds of 12/1 available on a 2-1 victory for Gary Megson's men.
Click here for more information and hundreds more of superb odds.
Listen Live
If you can't make it to the Reebok Stadium on Sunday afternoon, you can listen to live commentary on Wanderers World with broadcasting stalwart Jack Dearden.
Click here to subscribe now.
