Team News vs Manchester City

By Mark Heys
July 23 2005

The team news for this afternoon's Asia Cup Semi Final clash against Manchester City at the National Stadium in Bangkok is as follows:

Bolton line up: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Nicky Hunt, Bruno N'Gotty, Tal Ben-Haim, Ricardo Gardner, Kevin Nolan, Ivan Campo, Gary Speed (c), Ricardo Vaz-Te, Kevin Davies, Henrik Pedersen

Substitutes from: Chris Howarth, Ian Walker, Joey O'Brien, James Sinclair, Jaroslaw Fojut, Johann Smith, Jay-Jay Okocha, El-Hadji Diouf, Khalilou Fadiga, Radhi Jaidi

City line up: Geert De Vlieger, Danny Mills, Mikkel Bischoff, Richard Dunne, Stephen Jordan, Joey Barton, Kiki Musampa, Claudio Reyna, Trevor Sinclair, Stephen Ireland, Bradley Wright-Phillips

Substitutes from: Karl Bermingham, Jonathan D'Laryea, Lee Croft, Micah Richards, Ben Thatcher, Sun Jihai, David Sommeil, Willo Flood, Sylvain Distin, David James

Jaidi, Diouf, Okocha and Fadiga are all rested due to their extensive international commitments over since the end of last season. Gary Speed will captain the side in a game which Sam Allardyce hopes to give the starting eleven as long a run out as is possible in difficult conditions.

"I would like to give the 11 that start today's game as long as possible," said Allardyce to the club's official site.

"We will rotate things later on in the game if the hot and humid conditions mean we are forced to make substitutions.

"I will rest my international contingent for the opening game and try and get them ready for a start in Saturday's match. They look extremely fit, but I want them to have a little longer rest before giving them the opportunity of playing in a competitive match.

"The rest of the squad look excellent and in peak condition - we are blessed with some exceptional athletes."