Bolton Wanderers v Sunderland – Skybet League One Last time out Sunderland drew with Rotherham and Bolton drew with Oxford The Black Cats travel to the University of Bolton Stadium to face bottom club Bolton Wanderers. Duncan Watmore (thigh) is still unavailable. New signings Joel Lynch and Laurens de Bock both played for the U23s on Monday night but won’t be included in the squad travelling to Lancashire. The Trotters will look to steady the ship and secure another clean sheet after a run of heavy defeats. Wanderers will once again be without their two recognised strikers, Daryl Murphy and Chris O’Grady, through injury, along with defender Harry Brockbank. Ben Alnwick, Liam Bridcutt and Will Buckley will no doubt relish the prospect of a chance to put one over their former club. Jack Ross: "It was a tough game against a good side," he said. "We had opportunities to go further ahead throughout the course of the game, but the biggest lesson for us is that collectively we need to start keeping clean sheets.” "It's my responsibility as manager to start keeping clean sheets. "To not have kept one yet makes it not easy to keep winning games, so that's the biggest frustration. "I need to get better at it and we need to as a team." “Duncan is still unavailable, Laurens (de Bock) and Joel (Lynch) should be available for the squad after this weekend. The cup game will maybe be the first one for them to contend for.” “We’ve got a couple of concerns from Tuesday, but I’d rather not say who they are at the moment. We’ll see how they are today and tomorrow.” Keith Hill: “This is our third game in a week and we have players who have not done that in 12, 14, 16 months,” he told The Bolton News. “The only player that we did recruit who’d played those games was Joe Bunney, he was up to match speed, but unfortunately he had a nasty accident. “Adam Chicksen has trained for two days and played two games in the last six months, but what we have seen in training is encouraging. The players are taking everything on board and we’re going into the game in a healthy mental state. “Physically there will be big improvements, but technically and tactically they are gradually taking things in. It won’t happen overnight but I’m happy.” “I can’t rush anyone, but I think it’s potentially three weeks before we’ll see anyone and the quickest one we’ll get on the training pitch is probably Daryl Murphy,” Hill told us. “Other than that, I think the rest are three to five weeks.” Prutton predicts: Meh Match Appointments: Referee: OLLIE YATES Assistants: David Benton and Matthew Parry Fourth Official: Daniel Middleton Team Line ups Sunderland: J.McLaughlin, O’Nien, Ozturk, Willis, Hume, Leadbitter, Dobson, Gooch, McGeady, Maguire, McNulty Subs: Burge, Flanagan, McLaughlin, McGeoch, Power, Embleton, Wyke Injured: Watmore Bolton Wanderers Matthews, Emmanuel, Hobbs, Wright, Chicksen, Bridcutt, Politic, Lowe, Crawford, Verlinden, Buckley Subs: Alnwick, Weir, Darcy, Zouma, Brown, Senior Injured: Murphy, O'Grady, Brockbank Betting Odds: Home 11/2 Away 2/5 Draw 18/5 My two pence: After another disappointing 1-1 draw despite taking an early lead then missing a penalty and ultimately conceding under pressure, we really need to put in a good display and take full advantage of Bolton’s poor start to improve our goal difference. My guess is a 3-1 away win Ha’way the Lads
I find it hard to think we won’t set up in a wrong way and draw 1-1. I’m struggling to have any real faith right now with the performances. Seen a bunch of ‘we were great for 30 mins’ comments, games last 90.
We have a way with helping the down and outs. Helping teams kick start or end a bad run. Surely not in this case ? Or is it worth a couple of bob on Bolton just to get some 'drown the sorrows' funds ?
It'll certainly be interesting to see what happens in this one because we absolutely should beat them. I think we will, it'll be comfortable and will settle a few nerves about how the season is going.
1-4. Another good start and this time we will keep on going. I was going for a clean sheet until I saw that Murphy was playing, so that's a given.
I don't think Bolton will beat us, another tight win is the probable result, and is what I expect, nothing less will do. Ross is under pressure, but as someone once remarked "pressure comes when you don't know what your doing" and I fear for Ross at this time. Talking about clean sheets now does him no favours. 1-2 or 0-2 will do for me, but notching up our goals difference is whats really needed to give everyone a lift and probably earn some time for him and his team.
Agree with almost every word. We need to set up to just blow them away tomorrow! But I do think clean sheets are important from our perspective - but winning is obviously more important
Me and both my sons heading down for this one, although only two of us together.. Ha'way lads.. Bring the bacon home..
We have not beat them in 5 matches. Is this our first clean sheet ? i hope but 1-2 will do. Bridcutt plays for them mind so he will score !. Ipswich lose 1-0 we win 7-0 we go 2nd.
Personally think we will win but make it hard for ourselves by conceding early again. I'm going 1-2. I think this could be the perfect time to start Wyke and Grigg together with Maguire and Mcgeady out wide. Get those 2 centre forwards into form and hopefully develop some form of a partnership. That said i do like Mcnulty, but he seems to be quite prone to picking up knocks, and he's only on loan so I would rather go with players who are actually ours.
Just had a whisper that McGeady may need a fitness test in the morning, hopefully fine. I'm on the train tomorrow and meeting up with a coach load from the Peterlee area. This Bolton team have conceded loads of goals and there's no excuse for caution tomorrow. If Ross allows Bolton to put us on the back foot and get a result he may find the 4,000 Sunderland supporters present finally turn on him. The support at Peterborough stuck with the team and it was only the red cards that diverted people's attention from Ross and his tactical disaster. Now he's started having a pop at the support, a la Bruce, he needs to put his house in order. Another poor performance, like Rotherham, and Ross will run out of support himself.