Manchester City were dealt a serious blow to their Top Four aspirations after losing to Hull City this weekend. They are now 3 points behind 4th place Liverpool, who won their weekend derby against Everton. City will look to make amends in their Tuesday matchup against relegation strugglers Bolton. Mancini will probably be making some changes to his starting 11 after the lackadaisical effort many of his players gave at the KC Stadium. Craig Bellamy and Stephen Ireland will probably be included in this drop list. New acquisition
Patrick Vieria played a tough match and will likely receive the starting nod. Injury concerns include those of Roque Santa Cruz, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott, Vincent Kompany and Michael Johnson. City are undefeated at home and have averaged twice as many goals as those conceded. The home crowd will be a great help in helping City overcome the jitters they were feeling at the KC Stadium. As far as Top Four hopes go, City have 2 games in hand on both Liverpool and Tottenham.
Mancini must motivate his squad to return to winning form, starting with the home match against Bolton.
Despite being serious relegation strugglers,
Bolton Wanderers are looking to create a chance at silverware by reaching the final 16 of the FA Cup. Their next match is on Sunday against Tottenham Hotspur, but Owen Coyle will have his mind set on the match at hand. A scoreless draw with Fulham on the weekend gave the Trotters a small boost, but it will take many more good performances before they can rest easy. Although Bolton's defense is typically quite strong, they have struggled on the travels this season. A 2-2-6 record will be hard to build on against a tough home team like City.
Owen Coyle faces some tough selection problems with the injuries of defenders Gary Cahill, Gretar Steinsson and Andy O'Brien. Ivan Klasnic, Joey O'Brien and Sean Davis remain on the injury list. The new manager can only realistically hope for one point against City and will therefore adopt a defensive approach.
The last time these two teams met, it ended in a 3-3 draw. Three times Bolton had taken the lead at home, but a
Carlos Tevez brace helped City salvage a point. Both teams will be highly motivated to get something from this match, but expect
Manchester City's determination and excellent home form to give them the edge in the end.
Manchester City vs Bolton Wanderers
Tuesday February 9, 2010
Kickoff: 8:45 PM (CET)
Venue: East Midlands (Manchester)
Tip: Manchester City (1x2)
Best Odds: 1.48 @ Betfair
