This sounds bad but I almost want Blackpool to win. It's been nice having those Tangerines with us in the Prem, and with a killer final fixture, they need a result against us to salvage any hope of staying up. While Blackpool are fighting for survival, Bolton don't seem to be fighting for much anymore. It's the lame duck period in the season for the clubs who are safe from relegation but not competing for Europe, and Bolton have certainly been playing like lame ducks of late. There are plenty of reasons why, an injury to arguably our best player and several others beside, failure to recover from the disappointment of Wembley, but they don't matter so much as Coyle's ability to find a solution. As I've said before, he definitely has some work to do over the summer. But I'm getting ahead of myself, back to Saturday.
Our last match with Blackpool was a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Reebok, with the Whites coming back to salvage a point against an impressive Blackpool side. Their results have dropped off a bit since then, as they haven't won since February. They currently sit 18th, but a win would bring them out of the relegation zone. They have pretty much a full squad to work with as well, although they'll be missing ex-Bolton boy Chris Basham. I reckon the rest of the league will be cheering for Blackpool on this one.
The usual suspects are out for Bolton, Mark Davies having had surgery on that niggly ankle, but he's expected to be back for pre-season. As the BBC tastefully put it, Marcos Alonso is a doubt for "personal reasons". Something has been sorely lacking from Bolton recently, and I wouldn't be shocked if we continued to lack on Saturday. Everyone has their eyes on the summer, new signings, and what next season will hold. Let's just not embarrass ourselves too much in the last two games.