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Bolton logo
Championship
Apr 11, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
Norwich logo

1-2

le Fondre (18')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Dorrans (9'), Hooper (93')

Preview: Bolton Wanderers vs. Norwich City

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Bolton Wanderers and Norwich City.

Norwich City will hope to win their fourth game in a row when they travel to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday as their promotion push continues to gather momentum.

The Canaries now sit second in the Championship table, and have a great chance of securing automatic promotion in the final five games.

Bolton are all but safe for another year, and are aiming to build confidence in the remainder of this season as they eye a title tilt in 2015-16.



Bolton Wanderers

Bolton players Eidur Gudjohnsen and Craig Davies celebrate the first Bolton goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers at Cardiff City Stadium on April 6, 2015© Getty Images

Bolton's turbulent season looks set to end in a calm manner, which allows them to plan for a fourth successive season in the Championship next year.

A successful Easter weekend saw the Trotters earn a point at home to Blackpool, before they impressively dispatched Cardiff City for just their fourth away win of the season.

This has left them 16th in the table and 13 points clear of Millwall in the relegation zone, which means that they can enter these final five games with an element of freedom.

A top-half finish is not impossible despite them having to play promotion chasers Bournemouth and Brentford, as well as Norwich, in the run-in.

However, three of their final five games will be played at home and boss Neil Lennon will be proud of their record at the Macron Stadium, where they have earned 35 of their 49 points.

They have lost just once in front of their own supporters since October, although that was to promotion-chasing Watford in a 4-3 thriller.

Norwich may be one of the form teams in the league, but Bolton will be confident that they can cause an upset.

Recent form: LWLDDW


Norwich City

Manager Alex Neil of Norwich looks on during the Sky Bet Championship match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Norwich City at Amex Stadium on April 3, 2015© Getty Images

Norwich are timing their run perfectly, as they look to earn promotion back to the Premier League at the first opportunity.

Two vital wins over Easter - away at Brighton & Hove Albion and at home to Sheffield Wednesday - have catapulted them into second, and their run-in looks kind.

In their final five games they face four bottom-half sides in Bolton, Leeds United, Rotherham United and Fulham, while the only promotion rivals they play are Middlesbrough at home on April 17.

Manager Alex Neil has lost just two games since he took charge in January, and his team are unbeaten since they fell to Wigan Athletic on March 4.

In the six games they have played since, the Canaries have picked up four wins and scored 13 goals, while back-to-back clean sheets will please Neil after his side had conceded in each of their previous five games.

With their away form the best in the division, Neil will be glad to see that three of their final games are away from Carrow Road.

Recent form: WDDWWW



Team News

Bradley Johnson for Norwich City on January 10, 2015© Getty Images

On-loan striker Adam le Fondre is expected to earn a Bolton recall, after he was ineligible to play against his parent club Cardiff in their last game.

He could replace either Emile Heskey or Eidur Gudjohnsen in attack, and partner Craig Davies.

Lennon still has injury concerns over Max Clayton (knee), Zach Clough (shoulder), Kevin McNaughton (leg), Marc Tierney (leg) and David Wheater (hamstring), but all five could feature on Saturday.

Norwich are without star midfielder Bradley Johnson, who starts a two-match suspension after he picked up his 10th yellow card of the season against Sheffield Wednesday.

Neil could alter his formation and play with two strikers in Johnson's absence, with Gary Hooper available, or winger Nathan Redmond could earn a recall.

Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup: Bogdan, Vela, Mills, Dervite, Ream, Bannan, Walker, Janko, Heskey, Le Fondre, Davies.

Norwich City possible starting lineup: Ruddy, Whittaker, Martin, Bassong, Olsson, Howson, Tettey, Dorrans, Redmond, Hoolahan, Jerome.



Head To Head

Norwich have dominated the recent head-to-head record, and have won four of their previous five games.

Earlier this season, Cameron Jerome scored twice to give Norwich a 2-1 home win, while the Canaries did the double over the Trotters in the 2011-12 season when both sides were in the Premier League.

Bolton were relegated that year, and two defeats to newly-promoted Norwich hurt them badly.

The Lancashire side haven't beaten Norwich since 2005, when a Stelios Giannakopoulos goal gave them a 1-0 win in the top flight.



Video Preview

Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:



Sports Mole Logo

We say: Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Norwich City

Bolton have a strong record at the Macron Stadium, but Norwich are the division's best away side and should be able to cope with Neil Lennon's team. The Canaries look like beating everyone at the moment, so we're going for a 2-1 away win.



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