Another round of EFL games are upon us as Bolton Wanderers kicks us off in the Sky Bet Championship, as they host promotion chasing Bristol City.
Team News
Bolton boss, Phil Parkinson could hand Zack Clough his second debut, after signing him on loan from Nottingham Forest.
Aaron Wilbraham however is a doubt with a calf injury to face his former side.
Bristol City are without their suspended defender, Nathan Baker.
Gary O’Neil is back training but unlikely to feature here whilst striker, Matty Taylor is out after hernia surgery.
Form
Bolton Wanderers come into this game off the back of four points from their last three league games.
At the Macron Stadium, the Trotters have taken ten points from last five home league matches.
Bristol City meanwhile ended a run of seven games without a win in all competitions, beating QPR 2-0 last time out with goals from Famara Diedhiou and Joe Bryan.
On the road, the Robins however taken nine points from their last five away games in the Championship.
Stat Attack
- Since 1994, these teams have met here on just four occasions with Bolton winning three and drawing one.
- Parkinson’s last clash with the Robins came when he was Bradford City manager, losing that game 6-0 in April 2015.
- From 20 home second tier meetings, Bolton have a (W11 D5 L4) record from this fixture.
Prediction
With both teams at opposite ends of table, they need a win here in their respective battles.
Looking at the per game averages, this match looks like it could be a tight one.
| Per game average | Bolton Wanderers (home) | Bristol City (Away) |
| Corners | 4.86 | 4.71 |
| Fouls | 12.71 | 13.29 |
| Shots | 12.21 | 12.43 |
| Shots on Target | 3.5 | 3.64 |
| Goals | 1.21 | 1.43 |
Although Bolton have more corners, it is quite a low corner average for any home team that I have seen this season.
That means that they’re going to need to be clinical and not waste chances.
Bristol City themselves aren’t too shabby but avoiding too many fouls will be their aim here.
The attack looks very close to call between both teams but I fancy the visitors to just have that edge.
Prediction: Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Bristol City
Result: Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Bristol City