Bolton vs Portsmouth Preview

Last updated : 23 April 2010 By Jim Bonner
Pompey travel to the Reebok Stadium for a virtually meaningless game, although some of the fringe players will want to stake their claim for a starting place in the FA Cup Final team.

Team News

Jamie O'Hara is still out with a back injury but Aruna Dindane should play after Lens waived his bullet payment contract clause. Nadir Belhadj and Tal Ben-Haim are still missing but it's doubtful that Grant will rest anyone with the cup final just over three weeks away.

Matthew Taylor is likely to start against his former club and could be joined by Andy O'Brien who also wore Pompey colours not so long ago. Vladimir Weiss, on loan from Manchester City, could also start after impressing at Stoke last week.

The Match

Bolton will make themselves mathematically safe from relegation with a win against Pompey but are almost certain to survive anyway after Matt Taylor's two late goals at Stoke sealed a 2-1 win for the Trotters.

For Pompey, this game will simply be about avoiding injuries and trying to build some momentum ahead of the FA Cup Final. There'll be a few players who will want to impress Avram Grant and try and force themselves into the FA Cup Final starting XI.

Most people will expect Bolton to win this, especially as Pompey haven't won a league game since the 3-2 win against Hull over a month ago. But then Bolton have lost five of their last seven games and are poorer at home than most teams, so we have a chance of sneaking a result tomorrow.

Predicted Starting Line-Ups

Bolton

GK: Jussi JAASKELAINEN

RB: Gretar STEINSSON
CB: Gary CAHILL
CB: Andy O'BRIEN
LB: Paul ROBINSON

RM: Vladimir WEISS
CM: Fabrice MUAMBA
CM: Jack WILSHERE
LM: Matthew TAYLOR

CF: Ivan KLASNIC
CF: Kevin DAVIES

Pompey

GK: David JAMES

RB: Anthony VANDEN BORRE
CB: Aaron MOKOENA
CB: Marc WILSON
LB: Leonard SOWAH

DM: Papa BOUBA DIOP
CM: Michael BROWN
CM: Hassan YEBDA
AM: Kevin-Prince BOATENG

CF: Frederic PIQUIONNE
CF: Aruna DINDANE

Last Time: Bolton Wanderers 2 Portsmouth 1

Bolton were 2-0 up within three minutes after Matt Taylor scored within the first 60 seconds and then Ricardo Gardner struck to complete a dismal start for Pompey.

Peter Crouch pulled one back after heading in Niko Kranjcar's cross but the home side dominated and should have won this game more comfortably than they did. Lassana Diarra did come off the bench for his final appearance in a Pompey shirt before his scrutinised £20 million move to Real Madrid.

Pundit Watch

Lawro: Home Win (2-1)
Sky Sports: Home Win (1-0)
Soccernet: Home Win

My Prediction: Seeing as everyone is predicting us to get beaten by one of the poorer teams in the division, it usually means we get a result! I think we're good enough to grab a draw here so long as Grant picks a strong side.

Bolton Wanderers 1 Portsmouth 1