Premier League preview: Wolves v Bolton

Bottom side Wolves host Bolton in a must-win clash at Molineux in the English Premier League on Saturday.

Wolves are three points adrift at the bottom of the table, and a loss to 17th-placed Bolton at home would leave them six points from safety with seven games remaining.

Results have not improved since manager Mick McCarthy was sacked in early February, with four losses and a draw and 16 goals conceded under interim boss Terry Connor.

Indeed, Wolves have won just once in their past 18 matches in all competitions, but Connor has not given up hope of surviving the drop.

“I’m more determined than ever,” Connor said. “Everyone will be writing us off.

“We’ve been in this position before, we’ve been bottom before and we’ve managed in each of the last three years to get back above that dotted line.

“We have to keep going and be competitive for 38 games. My message to the players and to everyone is keep believing.”

Wolves have several winnable games against bottom-half teams in their run home, but perhaps none more important than Saturday’s clash with a resurgent Bolton.

Owen Coyle’s side were in the same position as Wolves earlier in the year, but back-to-back wins over QPR and Blackburn have seen them leap out of the relegation zone.

The win over Blackburn was a particularly emotional one in their first match since team-mate Fabrice Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest on the field in their FA Cup tie against Tottenham.

Although they lost the rescheduled FA Cup tie against Spurs on Tuesday, goalkeeper Adam Bogdan says that may be a blessing in disguise for their Premier League ambitions.

“I’m disappointed to be out of the cup but the situation is that now our only focus is the Premier League,” Bogdan said after a man-of-the-match performance against Tottenham.

“We are in a hard position but if we can show this fighting spirit as we have in the last couple of game, we can make it.”

Although their injury woes have eased slightly, Bolton still have a number of players out long-term.

As well as Muamba, who is still recovering in hospital, Ricardo Gardner, Lee Chung-Yong and Stuart Holden are all sidelined until the end of the season.