Match Preview

Preview: Ipswich v Bolton

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Bolton`s search for a first league win goes on, and Saturday Is the latest chance for them to put that right. We travel down to Ioswich with at least the psychological boost yesterday that the transfer embargo has been lifted. Ipswich have made a start to the season better than many had expected, but they have recently lost a couple of games to drop out of the top six.

Vital Quotes:

“It`s still very early in the season but I do believe we can turn this around quickly. It has been a very, very poor start – we can`t hide away from that. But I do believe the lads showed the right spirit against Sheffield United and we have got to keep that tenacity in our play against Ipswich on Saturday.”

Phil Parkinson in the Bolton News

Ipswich Town Team News:

Luke Chambers may be ready to return to the side after ligament damage. Ipswich have had real problems at centre-back, with him, Tommy Smith and Adam Webster all injured. Dominic iorfa and Jordan Spence filled in out of position last week. Bersant Celina, who we were after this summer, is being tipped for a start after a superb goal at Loftus Road last weekend. Tom Adeyemi could be handed a first start after illness has kept him out for the start of the season, while Tristam Nydam has recovered from a knock.

Player to watch: Joe Garner

Garner returned to English football this after a short spell at Rangers, where he struggled to regularly score goals. But his start to life at Portman Road has been more fruitful, scoring the only goal on his debut in a 1-0 win over Birmingham, and has since scored a couple more.

Bolton Wanderers Team News:

Will Buckley will be out after his back and hamstring problems forced him off on Tuesday, joining Derik, Sammy Ameobi and Josh Vela in the ‘unavailable` category. Filipe Morais (knee) and Andy Taylor (calf) aren`t particularly out of the woods, but both could still be in contention. Yesterday`s lifting of the embargo means in theory, Jack Earing, Alex Perry and Jeff King could all be available for selection.

Player to watch: Mark Little

Little comes up tomorrow against the manager who gave him his senior debut. Mick McCarthy started a teenage Little for Wolves in a Carling Cup tie against Chesterfield back in 2006. More than 11 years on, Little is expected to play at right wing-back for Wanderers tomorrow. He has looked the most defensively solid of the three players to have played there this season, and was one of the better performers on Tuesday night.

Match Facts & Stats

If Bolton fail to win tomorrow, they will have started the season with eight games without a victory. Only on two occasions will we have waited longer for a win, 11 in 2013, when we finally won at Birmingham in October, and finished 14th in the end. The longest winless run was 23 back in the 1902/03 season. Unsurprisingly, we finished bottom of the first division that season, despite winning six of our last eleven.

Bolton have lost their last four league games away to Ipswich, the last win at Portman Road coming in a 2005 FA Cup tie, winning 3-1. The last league win there was in 2001, when Gudni Bergsson and Michael Ricketts scoring in a 2-1 win.

Our last trip to Portman Road was in November 2015, when Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Brett Pitman scored for them in a 2-0 win.

We can put facts in this section.
Barry Knight is a bad referee is an objective fact which cannot be argued.

Ref Watch:

It’s not Barry Knight

Match Prediction:

I expect us to give Ipswich a game at least, but I can`t see us actually winning there, it`s becoming a bit of a bogey ground. 2-1 to Ipswich.

Next Fixtures:

A London double, as we travel to West Ham in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, before a home game in the league against fellow strugglers Brentford next Saturday.

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