Manchester United welcomes Bolton Wanderers at Old Trafford on Saturday in an important premier league encounter. Manchester United looks to get their title challenge back on track after a poor start in their title defense of premier league. The Red Devils could manage to get only 5 points from their first four premier league matches so far this season. So, there is nothing to be surprised to know that the defending champions are now at the 15th position in the league table. Blackburn Rovers also got off to a bad start in their premier league campaign as they stands at the 16th in the league table with a point less than Manchester United, but Bolton played a match more than United. So, the Saturday’s clash will see two struggling sides taking on each other.
Match: Manchester United vs Bolton Wanderers; English Premier League 2008-2009
Date: 27 September 2008, Saturday
Venue: Old Trafford
Kick off: 15:00 BST (British Standard Time)
Manchester United could manage to win only one out of their four matches and that was against Portsmouth. However, the Alex Ferguson boys were held to draw against Newcastle United and Chelsea, while the Red Devils suffered a rare defeat to Liverpool away at Anfield, which was their first defeat at Liverpool in seven years. So, it is pretty clear that Manchester Untied is not at their prime and they can not afford to lose any more point at this stage of the league. So, anything less than a victory against Bolton Wanderers would be considered as a disaster for Manchester United.
However, Manchester United showed glimpses of their prime form in the match against Chelsea and the last Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea helped Manchester United get some confidence back in their title run. Manchester United played well at Stamford Bridge and took lead in the match, but United failed to pick up three points as Chelsea found net courtesy of Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou in the second half. However, Manchester United players will find inspiration from Tuesday’s 3-1 Carling Cup third round victory over Middlesbrough. Most importantly, Cristiano Ronaldo has found net in the match and that could be an inspiration for the other players of the side.
Bolton Wanderers suffered a 3-1 home defeat to in-form Arsenal last weekend, even though they played well in the second half of the match. Bolton is going through a rough patch of time. They won only one of their five premier league matches and lost three, while the other match was drawn. Managing only 4 points from five matches Bolton is now on the verge of relegation zone. Despite the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal, Bolton Wanderers manager Gary Megson is still hopeful about the United visit. Recently, he talked about Bolton Wanderers upcoming fixture at Old Trafford.
BWFC reported:
That's just the way that things have worked out and you have got to play the big four home and away, but the fact that we are playing them on consecutive Saturdays doesn't particularly help.
We've got to go there and try and put it to the back of our mind and try to get a decent result.
Cristiano Ronaldo has recently retuned to action, and now after getting his goal scoring form back, he is likely to start against Bolton Wanderers in what it would be his premier league first team appearance this season. Ferguson has a number of options to choose from in order to set up the attacking line up. Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and record signing Dimitar Berbatov are all available for the visit of Bolton Wanderers. However, United manager Alex Ferguson will not get the service of Michael Carrick due to his foot injury, while goal keeper Edwin van der Sar is not confirmed for the home match as he took a serious knock to his knee in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea. However, defender Nemanja Vidic is back in the contention for first team line up and is expected to replace Jonny Evans at the centre of Manchester United defense.
After serving three-match suspension, Gary Cahill is now available for the visit to Old Trafford. He could bolster Bolton’s weak defense. Last but not the least, Johan Elmander, the club’s record signing, has just been back to training after recovering hamstring injury. Full back Matty Taylor has also shaken off his foot injury. Both the players returned to training this week and Gary Megson would need to take a last minute-decision on their fitness.
Online Live Score and Updates
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Manchester United seems to be favourite against Bolton Wanderers. Primarily, Manchester United will look to ensure three points, but a big margin victory could give them a much-needed confidence booster. However, Bolton will also try to pick up at least a point from the match in what it would be success story for Bolton Wanderers. I think, the match will be interesting one with Cristiano Ronaldo coming back to form and Bolton looking for a strong performance which would boost up their level of confidence.
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