Bolton v West Bromwich

West Bromwich face Bolton at the Reebok on Sunday afternoon, May 6, 2012 at 14:00 GMT.

Teams News

Bolton

Level on points against QPR with a game in hand against Tottenham, Bolton will welcome West Brom on Sunday with the hopes of finally pulling away from the relegation zone. This has been the primary concern of Owen Coyle and his Wanderers – they have been fighting relegation in the last month or so to good albeit very slow effect. With only two wins in their last six however, it looks like Bolton’s fate vis-à-vis QPR’s is going down the wire.

The left side of Bolton proved effective against Sunderland last game as Sam Ricketts and Martin Petrov created the two goals for Kevin Davies to finish off. Petrov most notably, is Bolton’s man of the moment. He has created two goals and scored one himself in the last three games, keeping his team in the battle for survival.

West Bromwich

Roy Hodgson will be marching to the Reebok with the Baggies this weekend as newly appointed England manager. Hodgson will however remain in the club to oversee its last two games before passing on the baton to a new manager. The search for the new West Brom head honcho has now commenced, and any time now a new manager can sign the contract for next season.

At 10th place, West Brom now enjoy the luxury of playing their games without fear of relegation. Things were very different by the turn of the year when the club was battling its way out of relegation. It was during this time when Hodgson sat down as club manager and since then, the club has inching its way up the rankings steadily. Hodgson’s departure could have several effects then, including the negative ones. But he will surely keep his players’ spirits in check after this whirlwind of a week in the world of English football.

Bolton v West Bromwich Betting Preview

It remains to be seen what kind of effect Hodgson’s departure will cause to West Brom; we guess for a positive one. The players will definitely play to impress the new England boss in the last two games however they will need to crack open Bolton in their home ground. The Wanderers after all will have everything to play for in the coming weeks.

Four in the last six outings ended in a draw between these two clubs. In the last two matches, the results are even – a win for each team, with the most recent going to West Brom earlier in the season. A draw for this game then, looks more likely.

Betting Tip

Verdict: Draw, 2-2.

Tip: Bolton has been lagging down in the past weeks and this could be the time where they pick the energy up to end the season well. For this a Bolton win at 1/1 is looking very unattractive. A draw at 2-2 at 11/1 is better if you fancy Bolton to take a point away from this game at the very least. Then again, a West Brom win – which is actually a good prospect – can never be discounted. The Baggies are at 12/1 to win 1-0 and 20/1 to win 2-0.

All odds are from Bet365.com (£200 FREE BET!).