Prediction: Bolton vs Manchester United

9th September 2011

After losing their last two games against Premiership title contenders Manchester City and Liverpool, Bolton are hoping to get at least one point from their game with Manchester United and thus remain in the top half of the table. Red Devils, on the other hand, are brimming with confidence following the 8:2 win over Arsenal and they are certainly the favourites to win this game as well.

Bolton are still trying to recover from all the bad things that happened to them during the summer and three points from as many games is a pretty good return considering the opponents they faced at the start of the season. As if the task of replacing Johan Elmander and Daniel Sturridge wasn’t tough enough, the Trotters had the misfortune of having Lee Chung-Yong, Tyrone Mears and Marcos Alonso pick up serious injuries at the very start of the season, and they are coping the best they can. The 4:0 win over QPR at Loftus Road showed that Bolton are still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to clashes with bottom table sides, whereas the defeats to City and Liverpool were hardly unexpected. Owen Coyle’s side not only managed to score against both title contenders but also fared much better against the two teams than Tottenham and Arsenal had respectively, so I cannot help but feel that Bolton will give United a really tough time at Reebok Stadium.

While Manchester United were expected to do well following some shrewd dealings in the transfer window, probably not even Sir Alex Ferguson himself could have predicted such a successful start to the season. New signings Ashley Young, David De Gea and Phil Jones wasted no time in trying to adapt to life at Old Trafford and especially Ashley Young hit the ground running from the very start of the season, helping the side record some amazing results during the month of August. Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck returned from their loan spells as if they had never left Old Trafford in the first place and all these things helped United win their first four games of the season, scoring 16 goals in the process. The back line has suffered in the absence of Vidic, Ferdinand and Rafael, and the back four is likely to have their work cut out for them against Klasnic and Davies, but if Rooney and Young continue their goalscoring form, United will have no problems winning the game.

Conclusion

United are the favourites here, especially after scoring eight goals against Arsenal, but the short price offered on away win doesn’t give value for money. With Bolton doing really well at the moment and scoring goals for fun, I believe that backing both teams to score is the best option here.

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best Odds: 5/6

Bookmaker: 888Sport