Wolverhampton Wanderers v Bolton Wanderers
Football: England, Premier League
Saturday, 5th December 2009 - Kickoff 15:00

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With both sides entrenched in the bottom three and severely lacking in confidence, the fixture this time around has already been labelled a "must-win" game - but in reality it's a "mustn't lose" scenario.

Wolverhampton (19th) Home 1-2-4 5:11

What can we say about Wolves home form?

Well - apart from the big loss to Arsenal, the other five games have all been close, with two draws, and the other three games all decided by a single goal margin.

The home win over Fulham was a good result - much needed too - but the followe-up 0-1 home loss to Pompey just underlined what sort of season this is going to be for Wolves fans.

Wolves Team News :
Wolves will be without winger Michael Kightly, who faces surgery on his ankle and could be sidelined for eight weeks.

Greg Halford and Stefan Maierhofer are expected to recover from minor knocks sustained in training, while David Jones (knee) may be considered.

Also Injured : Iwelumo (metatarsal), Murray (knee), Zubar (thigh)

Bolton (18th) Away 2-1-3 8:12

Bolton have slipped back into the relegation zone after a series of poor results, but looking at the away form as a whole Bolton are probably over-achieving picking up more than a point per game.

The 1-5 thrashing at Aston Villa was a disaster, but look past that and we can see some positive performances at both Portsmouth and Birmingham City.

Bolton Wanderers Team News :
Bolton are without captain Kevin Davies who is serving a ban after his fifth booking of the season last week.

Danny Shittu and Mustapha Riga (both hamstring) may return, Sean Davis and Joey O'Brien (both knee) are ruled out.

Head to Head

Wolves and Bolton have met 112 times in the league. Wolves have won 48, Bolton 43 and there have been 21 draws.

Bolton have won their last two trips to Molineux, in 2001 and 2004.

Wolves have beaten Bolton only once in their last 11 attempts. Ade Akinbiyi scored the only goal in the second tier a decade ago.

The Betting Verdict :

This game will be one of deperation and persperation rather than inspiration and both sides will be determined to get something from the match.

Despite some good patches of play - neither club has been able to put together solid complete 90 minute effort.

I expect a tight game, a couple of goals, and the points to be shared.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Wolves 1-1 Bolton

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :

Wolves 39% - Draw 31% - Bolton 30%

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take the DRAW at a fair price.