Big Match Preview: Bolton Wanderers v Ipswich Town - CTRL+ALT+DEL

So here we are. After a quiet week in Bolton Wanderers’ recent history where almost nothing has happened....well...apart from this, this, this, this, this and this, we are at game day - and it’s a massive one at that.

Gone are the doubts about whether the game will go ahead and gone are the worries about players striking (insert comment about how maybe they’ve been on strike since September) and we are facing what is undoubtedly our biggest game of the season.

Still adrift in the relegation zone but somehow within touching distance thanks to last weekend’s fantastic win away to Queens Park Rangers, Bolton welcome Ipswich Town, rock bottom Ipswich Town, to the Reebok this afternoon with the chance to put behind them the mess and the madness of the past few days and get the win that we so desperately need.

What better opposition than the only side in the division with a worse record than our own?

With Jack Hobbs and Luke Murphy expected to miss out, Wanderers should be relatively unchanged from last weekend. In terms of the opposition, Teddy Bishop, Will Keane and James Collins could all feature, although someone called Jon Nolan picked up an Achilles injury in their defeat by Hull City and is therefore doubtful.

History is not on our side, as we are 11 games without a victory over Ipswich. Our last came in 2002 under Big Sam. The last four meetings at the Reebok have been draws, too, which is a grim prospect. Interestingly, should Wanderers win, it’ll be our first back-to-back since August. Another notch for the grim-as-fuck award.

One nugget of hope for Wanderers fans is that Ipswich manager Paul Lambert has won only three of his last 39 matches as a manager in all competitions (D16 L20).

So with that being said, a brief message from the fans to our players:

DO NOT LOSE