Manchester United vs. Bolton Wanderers Preview

1996/1997 was the last time Manchester United slumped to three successive Premier League defeats and the Red Devils will be hoping to avoid a repeat of that dismal run when they host Owen Coyle’s struggling Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford on January 14.

Shock reversals at the hands of Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United meant United’s New Year celebrations were well and truly crashed along with their title aspirations which have undoubtedly suffered a major blow.

Alex Ferguson’s side have largely been a huge disappointment this season following their premature exit from the Champions League and a 1-6 pasting by rivals Manchester City at the end of November.

And with a highly anticipated F.A Cup Third Round derby clash against Roberto Mancini’s men directly preceding this top flight fixture, Manchester United’s approach and belief against Bolton is likely to be greatly affected by how they perform and fare in that tie.

Rarely under Ferguson have United underperformed so much for a prolonged period of time, but from the outside looking in, these really do look desperate times for England’s most successful ever club.

Despite the horror show at home to Blackburn and 3-0 drubbing at St James’s Park, Manchester United are still nonetheless heavy favourites to put a weak Bolton side to the sword.

Owen Coyle’s men are deeply entangled in a wide open relegation battle and must surely be up against finding a result at Old Trafford, even with the home side so out of sorts.

They have, however, found some degree of resistance and resilience in recent weeks after recording wins over Blackburn and Everton - successes which have at the very least given Coyle’s men a platform for escape if they can maintain some kind of consistency.

The aforementioned statistic about United is proof enough nevertheless that Ferguson’s men rarely fail to break the losing habit and it is extremely unlikely that they will match the three game losing streak endured in 1996/1997 by getting turned over here.

By no means do United look a solid or indeed lucrative betting proposition at 1/6 (odds which are far too short considering the circumstances), however they should have everything their own way over the duration of ninety minutes and can make their presence felt in the title race once more.

On average, Bolton have shipped around two goals per game on the road and it is hard to envisage that record improving against the likes of Rooney, Nani and Berbatov.

Whilst it is unlikely to be a complete route, an authoritative performance and comfortable home win should be on the cards and a half time/full time home result at odds of around 4/6 should probably be taken.

Any positive result against City in the F.A Cup will naturally boost the confidence behind United in this fixture and if they can at the least escape Eastlands with a replay under their belts, order should be restored in terms of the league at the Theatre of Dreams.

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08/01/2012     © Frixo 2024