Bolton Wanderers v Fulham,
Barclays Premier League,
Saturday 14 March, 2009,
Reebok Stadium, 3pm Kick-Off.
Saturday's meeting between Bolton and Fulham is set to be played in front of a bumper crowd at the Reebok following the club's £10 ticket offer and the launch of the inaugural Ladies Day.
Wanderers will be pressing for their fourth consecutive home win and need no more incentive than knowing that three points will see the them leapfrog Fulham in the table and possibly move themselves up to eighth position depending on results elsewhere. And the omens are good, the West Londoners record in the North West is pretty poor having not scored in five league trips to the region this season.
This will be the tenth campaign in succession that the two clubs have met in the league with Bolton losing only one of the previous seven games between the two clubs in the league at the Reebok - back in April 2004 when Brian McBride struck a second-half brace.
The Cottagers are still to win on the road this season, with their last league victory coming at Fratton Park on the final day of last season, one which ensured their survival in the Premier League. Since then they have lost seven and drawn seven of their games away from Craven Cottage.
The referee for the game is St Helens based official Chris Foy. It will be his fourth game in charge of Bolton this season, following the home victory against Stoke City on the opening day of the season, the win away at the Stadium of Light and January's defeat to Arsenal.
Team News
Once again Gary Megson has a virtually fully fit squad to select from with only Ricardo Vaz Te and Joey O'Brien sidelined.
Roy Hodgson will be without former Newcastle and Aston Villa defender Aaron Hughes, who has a rib injury whilst Bobby Zamora is set to return to the fold after sitting out the midweek defeat against Blackburn with a hip complaint.
Opposition Key Player - Brede Hangeland
The Norway captain has been a big success in his 14 months at Craven Cottage, helping Fulham avoid relegation last season and push into the top half of the table this term. Hodgson said: "We have had plans for a while to talk to him a) about an extension and b) about improving his contract. That's in hand."
Hangeland has made it clear he is currently happy to stay at Fulham but Hodgson know the classy centre-back could soon be the subject of a resolve-testing bid. He said: "If it happens, it happens and we will deal with it the best we can but in the meantime Brede and other players who might interest other clubs are still here and we will do our best to keep them."
So far this season, Hangeland, who stands at six foot five inches tall, has played 33 games for Fulham scoring one goal, the winner against Arsenal back in August.
Opposition Manager - Roy Hodgson
Fulham appointed Roy Hodgson, 61, as their new manager on a "long- term" contract in December 2007. He took over after Fulham sacked Lawrie Sanchez with the club in the Barclays Premier League relegation zone. Hodgson took time to find his feet at Craven Cottage but he ended last season with immense credit after presiding over a remarkable escape from relegation thanks to a dramatic 1-0 final-day win at Portsmouth.
Hodgson has since assembled an impressive side down by the River Thames but he made a disappointing start to his managerial career when he was sacked after a short stint with Bristol City. He then led Malmo to five consecutive championships and two Swedish Cups and guided the Swiss national team to the 1994 World Cup finals and Euro 96. He went on to manage Inter Milan and Blackburn, amongst others, before taking over as Finland coach and narrowly missed out on taking them to Euro 2008. Hodgson's stint in charge of Blackburn ended with him being sacked in November 1998 with the club bottom of the Premier League.
But he has a vast amount of experience and success across Europe and was the experienced boss Fulham wanted to guide them away from relegation. Hodgson has since signed established Premier League performers in Andrew Johnson, Bobby Zamora and Mark Schwarzer. The cultured Hodgson has worked in eight countries and with 15 teams during a 33-year career.
Betting
To get all the best odds for the game, visit our official betting partner Bet2Go.
Wanderers are best priced at 11/10 to take all three points with a draw available at 23/10. For the pessimists out there who think that the Cottagers will win the match, they can find odds of 3/1.
Gavin McCann, who is looking for his first goal of the season, is 25/1 to score the opening goal of the game, whilst a draw at half-time and Bolton win at full-time is available at 4/1.
A 3-0 Wanderers victory is 20/1 with a 2-2 draw priced at 16/1.
Click here for more information and hundreds more of superb odds.
Listen Live
If you can't make it to the Reebok Stadium on Saturday afternoon, you can listen to live uninterrupted commentary on Wanderers World with the club's new official commentator Phil Gittins and special guest summariser Tony Kelly. The broadcast starts at 2.30pm.
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