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Neil Lennon's Bolton Wanderers have looked like a team possessed compared to the painful performances we were becoming all too accustomed to under his predecessor. Wanderers have now won three of their five matches under Lennon, compared to just one win in the first 11 league matches.
Tuesday evening's 3-0 victory over Cardiff was comfortably the best Bolton performance we've seen in a long time, with the team not only putting together some flowing passing moves but also working and pressing as a team. Add to that some excellent individual displays from the likes of Craig Davies, Darren Pratley, Chung-Yong Lee and Josh Vela, as well as Liam Feeney's first goals for the club, and it was a perfect evening for the Whites.
But Lennon will be all too aware that one win and one good performance does not constitute progress, and he will be keen to impress the need for the team to keep that level of football up. They have the perfect opportunity to do just that and climb out of the relegation zone as they host Wigan Athletic at The Macron tonight - in a consecutive Friday night match featuring the Wanderers hosted live on Sky Sports.
The headline for the hosts is Max Clayton making his first start for the club partnering Craig Davies up top, as Wanderers look set to switch to a 4-4-2. Pratley misses the visit of our Lancashire rivals, as he collected his fifth yellow card of the season in the Cardiff match, but Mark Davies has recovered from his obligatory knock to start. Vela looks set to continue at right-back with Kevin McNaughton and Joe Mason both returning to the bench.
Wigan's side is tough to call, with only three recognised defenders selected they could be playing a 3-5-2, or we could see a midfielder fill in at left back. Either way, you'd have to fancy Bolton's chances if Cravies can put in another excellent performance this evening.
Interestingly the visitors are unbeaten in their last four visits to the Macron (Reebok Stadium) in all competitions, although they've won just one. Let's hope the Whites can buck that trend and pick up their first home victory over The Latics since March 2010.
The teams have been announced and here are how they'll line up. Stay in touch through the match on the comments section below.
Bolton Wanderers:
GK | Andy Lonergan |
RB | Josh Vela |
CB | Matt Mills |
CB | Dorian Dervite |
LB | Tim Ream |
RM | Liam Feeney |
CM | Mark Davies |
CM | Neil Danns |
LM | Chung-Yong Lee |
CF | Max Clayton |
CF | Craig Davies |
Substitutes: Paddy Kenny, Kevin McNaughton, Dean Moxey, Jay Spearing, Joe Mason, Jermaine Beckford, Rob Hall
Wigan Athletic:
GK | Scott Carson |
RB | Maynor Figueroa |
CB | Leon Barnett |
CB | Rob Kiernan |
LB | Roger Espinoza |
RM | Calum McManaman |
CM | James Perch |
CM | Adam Forshaw |
CM | Emyr Huws |
LM | Shaun Maloney |
CF | Marc-Antoine Fortune |
Substitutes: Lee Nicholls, James Tavernier, Chris McCann, Don Cowie, Martyn Waghorn, James McClean, William Kvist