Wolves vs Bolton Wanderers Betting Pick | English Premier

English Premier

2012-03-31 - Wolves vs Bolton Wanderers

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Wolves v Bolton Wanderers
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 31 March 2012 - Kick Off 3pm

Wolves

Terry Connor was given the chance to take over as manager of Wolves with the sole goal of making sure the team survive in the Premier League. With results being as they are since he took over, this looks like a game that almost represents the last chance saloon for Wolves as a defeat would all but consign them to Championship football next season.

Wolves are bottom of the Premier League having gained just 22 points so far this season and that leaves them 4 points behind their opponents today, while also having a vastly inferior goal difference to their rivals. They have limped to a 3-2-10 record at Molineux this season, scoring 17 goals but conceding a League high 35.

They have lost 4 Premier League games in a row and they have earned just 1 point from the 15 available since Connor took charge of the club. A bigger worry is the fact that they have conceded 16 goals in the 5 games that Connor has been in charge of, although they have now conceded 28 goals in 9 League games. Wolves have won just 1 of their last 16 Premier League games, losing 10 of those games. They have lost their last 7 home games in all competitions.

Ronald Zubar returns to the team after being suspended for the loss to Norwich City last week, but there are still plenty of injury worries in the squad. Stephen Hunt, Karl Henry, David Davis and Michael Kightly are all major doubts, while Jamie O'Hara is out until the end of April.

Bolton Wanderers

Momentum is as good as anything at this stage of the season for those teams striving to survive in the Premier League and those that are looking to win silverware, and Bolton Wanderers seem to be picking it up at just the right time. With Fabrice Muamba improving in hospital, his teammates will look to use the events to inspire them in their bid to avoid relegation.

Bolton are 17th in the Premier League table and hold a 1 point advantage over QPR in the relegation zone while also holding a game in hand over their relegation rivals, while a win here would see them move 7 points clear of Wolves. They have a 4-0-10 away record this season, scoring 14 goals and conceding 29.

The team were knocked out of the FA Cup at Tottenham Hotspur during the week, but they will not be too bothered about that with the Premier League a priority. They have won back to back games in the League at home, both coming against relegation threatened teams QPR and Blackburn Rovers. Bolton have lost their last 4 away games in the Premier League since back to back wins at Blackburn and Everton.

Darren Pratley will be missing for Owen Coyle this weekend, but he is expected back in time for the next League game.

Head to Head

The two teams drew 1-1 at the Reebok Stadium earlier this season.

Bolton have a good record in recent games, winning on 3 of their last 4 visits including a 2-3 success last season.

Prediction

I will be the first to admit that I was very, very tempted in taking Bolton Wanderers to win this game because Wolves have been in awful form and the 3.25 on offer for the away win looked tempting to say the least.

However, Wolves have lost so many in a row at home that I just think they are going to give their all for this game in one major effort to make sure they have some sort of chance of staying in the Premier League. A defeat effectively puts Wolves down as far as I am concerned as they will be 7 points from safety with 21 points left to play for and an inferior goal difference.

The problem is that Wolves don't score enough goals and have been awful defensively, making some mistakes that cannot be criticised enough. To go 0-1 up at Norwich City last week and to concede the equaliser just 90 seconds later is beyond criminal considering their position in the League table.

Confidence is clearly lacking and they seem to crumble defensively when put under pressure. It is inexcusable that they have conceded at least 2 goals in their last 8 home games in the League while teams have reached that number in 12 of the 15 games played on this ground this season.

With that in mind, I think I am going to take Bolton Wanderers to score at least 2 goals here at 2.38- they themselves have managed to score at least 2 goals at Molineux in 3 of their last 4 visits, while also reaching that target at Blackburn, QPR and Wigan Athletic, teams also fighting for relegation.

They haven't been scoring a lot of goals away from home in recent games, but as I mentioned, they have scored against those around them and they have been playing with confidence to take advantage of any defensive issues Wolves continue to have.

The Statistics :

WOLVES LAST SIX HOME FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2012-03-18	L	0-5	H v Man_Utd
	2012-03-10	L	0-2	H v Blackburn
	2012-02-12	L	1-5	H v WBA
	2012-01-31	L	0-3	H v Liverpool
	2012-01-21	L	2-3	H v Aston_Villa
	2012-01-02	L	1-2	H v Chelsea

BOLTON LAST SIX AWAY FORM
	DATE	RESULT		OPPOSITION
	2012-03-03	L	2-0	A v Man_City
	2012-02-25	L	3-0	A v Chelsea
	2012-02-04	L	2-0	A v Norwich
	2012-01-14	L	3-0	A v Man_Utd
	2012-01-04	W	1-2	A v Everton
	2011-12-20	W	1-2	A v Blackburn