Just three days after a 2-0 victory over the Wanderers at Reebok Stadium,
Arsenal are prepared to once again face Bolton to boost their rank in the Premiership tables. A win here will put the Gunners even with Chelsea at the top, so expect
Arsene Wenger to hold nothing back in this key game. Although dealing with some injury problems, the French manager has proven his youngsters are more than capable of coming on and making a difference. 19-year-old
Francisco Merida came on as a late substitute and scored Arsenal's 2nd goal against Bolton to insure three points for the away team.
Francesc Fabregas has also proven he can step up as he gave the Gunners the early lead to keep their hopes of a first place finish alive. Aaron Ramsey and Amir Nasri are both out for 3 weeks with injuries, but the depth of Arsenal's team should be able to handle this.
The very real possibility of relegation caused Bolton's owners to fire
Gary Megson and bring on veteran
Owen Coyle. His first match against Arsenal ended 2-0, but the Trotters never really had a chance against the London giants. Coyle will have to show something new in this return leg if he is to impress as a new manager, will want to at least find the net once. The only team doing worse than
Bolton is Portsmouth, who at 14 points have had the worst start to a Premier League season in many years. At least Owen Coyle has no new injury problems. Joey O'Brien and Sean Davis remain on the sidelines, and the new manager is expected to adopt a similar approach to the one he chose this weekend.
Arsenal have been typically great at home with an 8-1-1 record. Allowing just 1 goal and scoring 3 on average, it seems the visitors have an insurmountable task ahead of them. Although they will be pushing to score at least one goal in retaliation, expect Arsenal to win by multiple goals.
Arsenal F.C. vs Bolton Wanderers
Wednesday January 20, 2010
Kickoff: 20:45 CET
Venue: Emirates Stadium (London)
Tip: Arsenal -2 (Asian Handicap)
Best Odds: 2.25 @ Bet365
