Reading Preview

By Mark Heys
August 23 2007

Bolton Wanderers need a win to pull themselves out of the relegation zone and move up the Premiership table but first they must take on last season's surprise package Reading at the Reebok Stadium this coming Saturday.

The Royals make the visit to the Reebok for only the second time in their history having previously recorded a 3-1 win in bizarre circumstances last April with all three of their goals coming in the last ten minutes of the game.

Bolton have lost all of their games so far this season and confidence is stuttering at a club that is usually renound for it's togetherness and organisation.

Steve Coppell's Reading side on the other hand have four points from the first three games played after notching up a narrow win against Everton last week.

In an attempt to stop the rot Wanderers manager Sammy Lee could call upon Abdoulaye Faye again after the Senegal international saw a potential move to Newcastle United stall.

Faye started the first game of the season against the Magpies but was left out of the subsequent games as the management felt he wasn't in the right frame of mind.

Andy O'Brien may make an appearance after completing an hour for the reserves against Manchester City but neither Joey O'Brien or Ricardo Gardner will feature despite also playing for the second string.

Striker Kevin Davies is still ruled out with a hamstring problem and Stelios Giannakopoulos is recouperating following a successful hernia operation.

Andranik Teimourian and Mikel Alonso will want to keep their places after making their first starts of the season in the 3-1 defeat against Portsmouth.

Reading are without the services of the suspended Dave Kitson and Ibrahim Sonko (knee) joins Aaron Brown (ankle) and ex-Wanderers player Glen Little (achilllies) on the sidelines.

England U21 striker Leroy Lita could return after a leg injury as could groin injury victim Michael Duberry and USA winger Bobby Convey. 

LAST TIME WE MET

21/04/2007 BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Shorey OG) READING 3 (Doyle 2 (1 PEN), Hunt)

BOLTON: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Nicky Hunt (Lubomir Michalik), Tal Ben-Haim, Abdoulaye Meite, Ricardo Gardner, Kevin Nolan (Stelios Giannakopoulos), Andranik Teimourian, Gary Speed, El-Hadji Diouf (David Thompson), Kevin Davies, Nicolas Anelka

Subs Not Used: Cesar Martin, Ian Walker

READING: Marcus Hahnemann, Ulises De La Cruz (James Harper), Michael Duberry, Ivar Ingimarsson, Nicky Shorey, John Oster (Seol Ki-Hyeon), Brynjar Gunnarsson, Steve Sidwell, Stephen Hunt, Dave Kitson (Shane Long), Kevin Doyle

Subs Not Used: Andre Bikey, Adam Federici

PLAYED FOR BOTH:

Brian Bromley, Dean Crombie, Les Ferdinand, Robert Fleck, John Hulme, Harry Kinsell, Glen Little, John Salako, Dave Sutton, Bill Wrigglesworth

DID YOU KNOW?

Lubomir Michalik made his Bolton debut the last time these two sides met. The then Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce recalled the Slovakian from a loan spell at Leeds United and within 30 mins the big centre half was off the substitutes bench to replace the injured Nicky Hunt.

Also injured against the Royals four months ago where El-Hadji Diouf and Kevin Nolan, with both withdrawals occuring before half time.

This is the worst start to a Bolton season since the 1981-1982 season and the worst Premiership start since the 1995-1996 campaign.

Reading moved into the Madejski Stadium a year after Bolton had moved to the Reebok Stadium.