Premier League
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Played
February 4, 2012 3:00 PM GMT
Carrow Road — Norwich, Norfolk
Referee:‬ L. Probert‎
Attendance:‬ 26358‎
 
70′ Andrew Surman
 
85′ Anthony Pilkington
 

Norwich City - Bolton Wanderers Preview: Canaries look to bounce back from Sunderland defeat against much-improved Trotters

Following positive home results over Liverpool and Arsenal, Owen Coyle's men will be looking to continue to push away from the relegation zone at Carrow Road

By Miles Chambers

More On :  Bolton Wanderers, Norwich City, Norwich City vs Bolton Wanderers

PROBABLE LINEUPS
NORWICH CITY

Ruddy
Martin, Ayala, Whitbread, Naughton
Pilkington, Crofts, Johnson, Surman
Holt, Morison

BOLTON WANDERERS

Jasskelainen
Ricketts, Knight, Wheater, Steinsson
Muamba, Reo-Coker
Petrov, M Davies, Eagles
Ngog
Canaries manager Paul Lambert could ring the changes following a 3-0 defeat to Sunderland on Wednesday. Wes Hoolahan could be replaced by Anthony Pilkington on the flank. Simeon Jackson is an attacking option at the boss’ dispense, although Steve Morison and Grant Holt have formed a solid partnership in attack for the Carrow Road club.

Norwich’s January signing, Jonny Howson from Leeds United, is unlikely to be ushered straight into the first team but could appear as a substitute on Saturday. Back-up goalkeeper Declan Rudd is Norwich’s only injury-induced absence.

The visitors have pulled off two substantial results against Champions League-chasing clubs and boss Owen Coyle will hesitate to change a working formula too much. David Ngog was ineffective in their 0-0 result at Arsenal but thrived at the Reebok Stadium against Liverpool, and chances are the Frenchman will continue to keep Kevin Davies on the bench.

First-choice Trotters keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen could be reinstated into the starting line-up at the expense of Adam Bogdan. Midfielder Ricardo Gardner (knee) has a 50/50 chance of being fit; Sean Davies (knee) and Stuart Holden (knee) are both are unlikely to be ready for the Canaries clash, with Lee Chung-Yong (broken leg) out for the remainder of the season.

 DID YOU KNOW?
  • Bolton, despite their lowly 17th position in the Premier League table, have been in excellent form lately. The Trotters have only lost one of their last five league matches, compared to losing five out of the previous seven.
  • The top scorer for Bolton in the 2011-12 campaign is Ivan Klasnic with seven goals. The striker most likely to start on Saturday is David Ngog (pictured right) – the Frenchman has scored an average of one goal every 533 minutes in the league this season.
  • Norwich’s 3-0 defeat to Sunderland in their last fixture was their first defeat away from home in six matches.
  • The game between these two sides at the Reebok Stadium earlier in the season ended 2-1 to the Canaries. Pilkington scored the opener and Bradley Johnson added to the tally five minutes later. Martin Petrov scored a penalty for the hosts in the second half but the Trotters lost nonetheless.
  • The Carrow Road side have conceded three or more goals in a league game this season five times; Bolton have seen this happen six times.
  • Jussi Jaaskelainen is joint third in Wanderers’ all-time appearance table with 530 games in his career at the Reebok Stadium. He needs to play in 29 more matches to claim the top spot outright.
  • Ruddy is the only goalkeeper to have been given a red card in the league this season to date.
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Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
  • Norwich City 1-2 Bolton Wanderers
    19.08 %
  • Norwich City 1-1 Bolton Wanderers
    12.98 %
  • Norwich City 2-1 Bolton Wanderers
    12.98 %
Head to Head
Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ 4 Feb 2012 Norwich City 2 - Bolton Wanderers 0
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Premier League ‎(EPL)‎ 17 Sep 2011 Bolton Wanderers 1 - Norwich City 2
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Last Five Matches
Norwich City
13 May 2012Norwich City 2 - Aston Villa 0EPL
5 May 2012Arsenal FC 3 - Norwich City 3EPL
28 Apr 2012Norwich City 0 - Liverpool 3EPL
21 Apr 2012Blackburn Rovers 2 - Norwich City 0EPL
14 Apr 2012Norwich City 1 - Manchester City 6EPL
Bolton Wanderers
13 May 2012Stoke City 2 - Bolton Wanderers 2EPL
6 May 2012Bolton Wanderers 2 - West Bromwich 2EPL
2 May 2012Bolton Wanderers 1 - Tottenham 4EPL
28 Apr 2012Sunderland 2 - Bolton Wanderers 2EPL
24 Apr 2012Aston Villa 1 - Bolton Wanderers 2EPL
Odds
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Returns: Bolton £90.00 WilliamHill Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25
Team News
Available Squads
1John RuddyGoalkeeper
3Adam DruryDefender
6Zak WhitbreadDefender
25Kyle NaughtonDefender
26Daniel AyalaDefender
11Andrew SurmanMidfielder
12Anthony PilkingtonMidfielder
14Wesley HoolahanMidfielder
15David FoxMidfielder
9Grant HoltStriker
10Simeon JacksonStriker
31Jed SteerGoalkeeper
2Russell MartinDefender
4Bradley JohnsonMidfielder
7Andrew CroftsMidfielder
17Elliott BennettMidfielder
5Steve MorisonStriker
21Aaron WilbrahamStriker
1Adam BogdanGoalkeeper
12Zat KnightDefender
15Tyrone MearsDefender
18Sam RickettsDefender
31David WheaterDefender
6Fabrice MuambaMidfielder
7Chris EaglesMidfielder
10Martin PetrovMidfielder
16Mark DaviesMidfielder
19Nigel Reo-CokerMidfielder
24David NgogStriker
22Jussi JaaskelainenGoalkeeper
25Dedryk BoyataDefender
21Darren PratleyMidfielder
9Tuncay ŞanlıStriker
14Kevin DaviesStriker
17Ivan KlasnicStriker
29Marvin Sordell Striker
Players to Watch
Bradley Johnson
Bradley Johnson
Position: Midfielder
Squad Number: 4
Games Goals YC RC
28 2 2 0

The 24-year-old has made the jump from Championship football to Premier League regular with surprising ease. Signing for the Canaries in the summer after the club were promoted, the ex-Leeds United man has spent more time on the pitch in top flight matches than any other midfielder in the squad.

However his performance away to Sunderland on Wednesday was far below his usual standards, although the whole team failed to compete with the Black Cats. Johnson will need a similar dominant showing to the one he gave in his last Carrow Road fixture, when Norwich held Chelsea to a 0-0 draw.

Zat Knight
Zat Knight
Position: Defender
Squad Number: 12
Games Goals YC RC
25 0 1 0

The Trotters have played two league games since Gary Cahill’s departure for Chelsea last month, but have only conceded once and even kept a clean sheet at home to Arsenal on Wednesday. The former Aston Villa defender has been a large part of the defence at the Reebok since Coyle took over as manager at the Lancashire club.

If Bolton are to pull away from the relegation zone as the business end of the season rapidly approaches they will need their back four to continue with their recent efforts. The former Fulham centre-back, who made his 100th competitive appearance for the club in January, could have a major say in how the club progress this campaign in the heart of the side’s defence.

Prediction

The Canaries kept a clean sheet for the first time in the Premier League this season in their last home game against Chelsea, but their game plan was a lot more defence-focussed than it will be this weekend. The home side would be wise to attack more freely on Saturday but, as a result, holes in the back-four and midfield will inevitably occur. Bolton’s back-line was hardly infallible in their last match but a clean sheet was claimed and that is bound to be a confidence boost for the much-improved Trotters. Owen Coyle’s men are continuing to battle their way out of the relegation zone and I cannot see Norwich coming away from Carrow Road with any points in the bag.

Editor's Prediction
Norwich City 0
Bolton 1
Results
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Top Scorers
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Tottenham 		17 3