Bolton vs. Manchester United: Crunch Battles, Match Breakdown, Projected Lineups

Bolton Wanderers were destroyed by the pace of Liverpool in their last game and the international break has allowed them to draw breath.

Chances are, however, that they will be huffing and puffing again at the Reebok against Sir Alex Ferguson’s side whose speed of thought and passing left Tottenham and Arsenal destroyed and humiliated respectively.

The Old Trafford manager has already warned that he is unlikely to be making many, if any, changes although Danny Welbeck’s hamstring injury forces him to make at least one from the starting lineup against the Gunners. Javier Hernandez, having replaced Welbeck in that game, is a no-brainer.

Other than that, United will be good to go again, Ferguson having told the Manchester Evening News that he has little choice but to stick with winners at this time and that players like Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Ji-Sung Park are going to have to be patient.

“I have no help because you have international breaks happening all the time. September, October, November. It is not until December that the squad comes into play,” he said.

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“From December through until May, everyone will realise the importance of having a squad and also the part they play. They will all play a part. At the moment, we just have to bite the bullet and play the team that is doing well, knowing I have a very good squad.”

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David Ngog, signed on transfer deadline day from Liverpool, will surely be on the Whites bench, while Ivan Klasnic, despite his stoppage-time strike in the 3-1 defeat, is also likely to be on the bench.

Match Breakdown

Fighting fire with fire is not liable to be Bolton manager Owen Coyle’s approach, having tried exactly that and losing to Manchester City and then Liverpool.

Coyle is one of the most enterprising and intelligent young managers in the Premier League and he will know that anything other than a holding game with long balls sent forward to the combative Kevin Davies will be asking for trouble.

Coyle must surely bolster his midfield in the hope that he can somehow frustrate the Old Trafford flying squad and so Fabrice Muamba, who was replaced by Mark Davies after only 25 minutes at Anfield, should return to play alongside him in a five-man midfield.

Crunch Battles

Gary Cahill and Zat Knight vs. Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez

The Bolton central defenders have it all to do. Rooney is on fire, having scored a hat trick in the 8-2 win over Arsenal and he followed that up with a goal for England in Bulgaria.

Hernandez, now back after a worrying concussion, will be anxious to prove that it should be he and not Danny Welbeck who should be Rooney’s first-choice partner after last season’s brilliant first campaign in England. He’s got a little time to do so because of Welbeck’s hamstring injury but he can’t afford to waste any of it, starting at the Reebok.

Fabrice Muamba, Nigel Reo-Coker and Mark Davies vs. Tom Cleverley and Anderson

On the evidence of Bolton’s two successive defeats after such a bright start at QPR, pace and quick passing destabilise their midfield and in Cleverley and Anderson, United have two players who have hardly put a foot wrong.

Cleverley is loving his newfound stardom and is doing a very passable imitation of Paul Scholes while Anderson has stepped up his whole game and is now becoming crucial to the United cause when once there were doubts about his concentration levels.

Unless the expected middle three for the Whites climb all over the United pair, the central defenders will have more to worry about than just Rooney and Hernandez.

Kevin Davies vs. Phil Jones and Johnny Evans

The Bolton veteran has brains as well as brawn and has been playing the lone frontman for years.

Make no mistake, he’ll give the United central defensive pair a few problems—he does that most weeks against any team.

His problem is liable to be a lack of ammunition while Evans and Jones have quickly formed the formidable partnership. They are both football-playing central defenders but in Jones, especially, United have a 19-year-old apparently cast in iron.

Injuries

Bolton: Chung-Yong Lee (double fracture of leg); Tyrone Mears (fractured leg); Marcos Alonso (fractured leg).

Manchester United: Nemanja Vidic (hamstring); Danny Welbeck (hamstring); Antonio Valencia (knee); Rafael (shoulder); Bebe (knee). 

Projected Lineups

Bolton Wanderers: Jaaskelainen, Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Robinson, Eagles, Reo-Coker, Mark Davies, Muamba, Petrov, Kevin Davies.

Manchester United: De Gea, Smalling, Jones, Evans, Evra, Nani, Cleverley, Anderson, Young, Hernandez, Rooney.