Middlesbrough Preview

By Mark Heys
September 15 2006

Bolton Wanderers are hoping to record their third home win in quick succession as they take on Middlesbrough at the Reebok Stadium tommorow afternoon.

Three points in the recent games against Tottenham Hotspur and Watford have seen the Trotters remain undefeated on home turf but the shaky performance against the Hornets left quite a few fans disgruntled.

Bolton manager Sam Allardyce has expressed his concern at the lack of empty seats at the stadium on matchday as some fans continue to vote with their feet for whatever reason. Last weeks game against Watford saw the lowest Premiership crowd at that venue for nearly five years.

That said, the team have still managed to get the necessary points on the board and currently lie in a healthy position amongst some of England's most pretigious and successful clubs.

The debate about the stayaway fans could rumble on forever more but the Wanderers first concern from here on in will be to pick up a positive result on Saturday against a Boro side going through a mixed run of results under new manager Gareth Southgate.

Sam Allardyce has received a boost this week as two of his injured Bolton stars resumed training. Both Kevin Davies (cheekbone) and Ricardo Gardner (knee) started light exercises and should be back in contention by the time October comes around.

Joey O'Brien (knee) and Henrik Pedersen (achillies) are also ruled out for this game but there is a return on the cards for recent groin injury victim Stelios Giannakopoulos.

Boro boss Southgate will be without his influential captain George Boateng after the Dutchman was stretchered off in the game with Arsenal following a challenge on the Gunners winger Freddie Ljungberg.

Defensive trio Julio Arca (broken foot), Ugo Ehiogu (achillies) and Chris Riggott (ankle ligaments) are long term absentees for the Teesiders but former Chelsea man Robert Huth could make his debut alongside fellow summer signing Jonathan Woodgate after shaking off an ankle problem.

PREMIERSHIP RECORD

09/09/1995 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (McGinlay) MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Hignett)

17/02/1996 MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Pollock) BOLTON WANDERERS 4 (Blake, Coleman, De Freitas, Lee)

21/08/2001 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Ricketts) MIDDLESBROUGH 0

19/01/2002 MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Whelan) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Hansen)

05/10/2002 MIDDLESBROUGH 2 (Ehiogu, Geremi) BOLTON WANDERERS 0

11/05/2003 BOLTON WANDERERS 2 (Frandsen, Okocha) MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Ricketts)

13/09/2003 BOLTON WANDERERS 2 (Davies, N'Gotty) MIDDLESBROUGH 0

03/04/2004 MIDDLESBROUGH 2 (Nolan (OG), Greening) BOLTON WANDERERS 0

07/11/2004 MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Boateng) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Pedersen)

12/02/2005 BOLTON WANDERERS 0 MIDDLESBROUGH 0

26/03/2006 MIDDLESBROUGH 4 (Hasselbaink 2, Viduka, Parnaby) BOLTON WANDERERS 3 (Giannakopoulos, Okocha, Jaidi)

03/05/2006 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Vaz-Te) MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Johnson)

PREMIERSHIP FORM GUIDE:

Played: 12

Won: 4

Drawn: 5

Lost: 3

CONNECTIONS

Ian Bailey, Anthony Barness, Andy Campbell, Simon Coleman, Neil Cox, Andy Dibble, Allan Johnston, Alan Kernaghan, Gary Parkinson, Jimmy Phillips, Jamie Pollock, Kevin Poole, Michael Ricketts, Bruce Rioch, Stuart Ripley, Walter Rowley, Andy Todd, Colin Todd, Tom Woodward

IT HAPPENED WHEN BOLTON PLAYED BORO

In this fixture two seasons ago Jussi Jaaskelainen was sent off in the final minute of the game for a foul on Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. Boro scored the resulting free kick past their former goalkeeper Kevin Poole to equalise.

Florent Laville played his last ever game for Bolton against Boro in September 2003. The French centre half was stretchered off with serious knee ligament damage which kept him out of action for over a year.

Jamie Pollock scored against Bolton in their first ever visit to the Riverside Stadium in February 1996.

Michael Ricketts scored his first Boro goal against Bolton on the final day of the 2002-2003 season just five months after leaving Wanderers in a contraversial transfer