Match Preview: Ipswich Town v Bolton Wanderers

After a very brief respite, Bolton Wanderers have returned to injury purgatory.  The list of unavailable players continues to be long and distinguished:

1. Neil Danns: Suspended

2. Saidy Janko: Arse injury

3. Dorian Dervite: Knee

4. Emile Heskey: Hamstring

5. David Wheater: Hamstring

6. Zach Clough: Shoulder

7. Kevin McNaughton: Leg

8. Mark Davies: Knee

9. Max Clayton: Knee

10. Adam Bogdan: It's always something

And just for old times' sake:

11. Marc Tierney: Knee

12. Stu Holden: Knee

Just for fun:

Bogdan

McNaughton Dervite Wheater Tierney

Clough Danns Holden Davies Janko

Clayton

That's actually a pretty good looking team.  Possibly even better than what Neil Lennon will put out on Tuesday night.  Ipswich Town are seventh in the table, one solitary point away from a playoff spot.  Their form has fallen off a bit a soft late, but they are still looking a good bet for the top six, with 61 points from 37 matches and a goal differential of plus-14.  They have scored 57 goals while allowing only 43.  The trick is really just to stop Daryl Murphy, who has 23 goals in 36 matches.  Bolton's top four goal scorers combined have 21.

On the bright side, the Trotters did keep a clean sheet in their last match, a 2-0 win over Millwall FC.  And they kept 93 minute of a clean sheet the previous match against Blackburn Rovers.  Given the club's propensity of not marking top strikers in the box, I can't see any scenario in which the home side don't score.  So the question becomes, can Bolton score enough to keep up with them?  And what will the team look like that attempts to do so?

Ben Amos

Josh Vela Paddy McCarthy Matt Mills Tim Ream

Liam Feeney Barry Bannan Simeon Slavchev Tom Walker

Adam Le Fondre Craig Davies

Or a reasonable facsimile.  The point is, I think Lennon will go for it.  What the hell.  We're playing for mid-table mediocrity.  There is nothing to lose.