Will Dougie Freedman make some changes from the past few matches? That is the big question tonight. There have been calls on this very site for Andre Moritz to get a start. A lot of Bolton Wanderers supporters would like to see Darren Pratley dropped. He only recieved his surprise recall two matches ago, and he has not been effective since.
The usual suspects are missing through injury. I've just about given up hope on Craig Davies, but Adam Bogdan, Mark Davies, Stu Holden, and Marc Tierney could all be back over the next months or so. Kevin McNaughton seems to have recovered from his knock a couple weeks ago, but I am sure the training staff is still keeping an eye on him.
The visitors are looking for their third straight win, and the previous two have left them four points ahead of Bolton at this point in the season. Wanderers were on their own good run of form with eight matches unbeaten before Saturday’s reversal at Middlesbrough. The single most important factor in this improvement was better defensive performances. Despite that fact, there have been the usual calls from the terraces about Freedman being "too defensive." This small, yet vocal group of supporters wants to be entertained. They apparently have very short memories. That said, I understand a manager who shares their tactical philosophy has recently become available.
I just can’t see Freedman ringing in the changes tonight. If Pratley is dropped, it will be for poor performance. Even if that happens, don't expect a swashbuckling Bolton side to suddenly appear at the Reebok. Dougie will definitely be thinking defense first.