Analysing Bolton vs Fulham – Who will come out on top this weekend?
Fulham look to extend their 4-match unbeaten run when they travel north to face Bolton this weekend, who themselves managed a morale-boosting victory over Bristol City last Friday. These teams’ ambitions are at opposite ends of the scale, with Fulham in with a chance of promotion and Bolton just desperate to stay in the division.
Although it could be said that this game is a foregone conclusion, the Bolton vs Bristol City game last week proved the old adage that anyone can beat anyone in the Championship. Fulham will be wary of coming up against a Bolton side that has taken points off teams like Sheffield United and Cardiff very recently.
Slavisa Jokanovic in recent weeks has got Fulham playing like the promotion candidate many predicted they would be at the start of the season. With Tom Cairney likely to return to the starting lineup and new signing Aleksandar Mitrovic making a fine start to his Fulham career, they have a wealth of options on the pitch that Bolton fans can only dream of. Fulham have the chance to close the gap to the automatic promotion places to just 3 points and put the pressure on those above them.
Bolton, on the other hand, have 3 wins in their last 5 games and are in a good position to survive the drop under manager Phil Parkinson. They were expected to struggle with the loss of star striker Gary Madine but the performances of Sammy Ameobi and Zach Clough have so far meant that the talismanic striker has not been missed.
Bolton are hard to beat at home and will be looking to close down the space and force Fulham to try and play around them. They showed against Bristol City that they can launch excellent counter-attacks and will be looking to hit Fulham on the break.
The form of these two teams means we should be in for an exciting game at the Macron Stadium but it is more likely that the away side will be able to continue their good form rather than the home side. For Fulham, this game is a test of their promotion credentials. If they wish to go up this season, they need to get wins from games like these, and on the other hand for Bolton, any kind of result would be a bonus in their quest to stay in the division.
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