Fulham v Bolton: Will the Wanderers pile more pain on Jol's side?
Fulham were within seconds of reaching the knockout stages of the Europa League on Wednesday night before Odense delivered Martin Jol's a knockout blow of their own. This weekend they take on basement boys Bolton Wanderers but can the Cottagers bounce back from their heartache or will Bolton compound the misery on Jol's men?
The Fulham players must be feeling deflated after that result. After all their season started in June and for what? With talk of a rift between Bobby Zamora and the manager and Andy Johnson linked with a move to Sunderland, Martin Jol now has a fight on his hand to keep this squad together.
Fulham's woes though are nothing compared to what's happening at the Reebok. Bolton have slumped to the foot of the table, have suffered injuries to key players and everything seems to be going against them. With Fulham feeling down in the dump this could be a great time for Bolton to get their season back on track. However, before you consider putting money on a Bolton win, consider this. Bolton have yet to beat Fulham at the Cottage in the Premier League and you have to go back to 1952 for their last victory at Fulham in the top flight. Maybe this won't be such a good day for Coyle after all.
On a positive note for the visitors, they have triumphed on their last two visits to Craven Cottage in cup football, and with fixtures against Blackburn, Newcastle and Wolves coming up over the festive period, Bolton should treat this like a cup final. Unfortunately for the Wanderers our pundits don't carry too much love for them.
Fulham v Bolton; Kick Off 3pm December 17 2011
Prediction Panel
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Arsenal |
Don McMahon |
1 |
V |
0 |
|
Aston Villa |
Frank Pattison |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Blackburn |
Terry Kennedy |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Bolton |
Dave Blackburn |
3 |
V |
1 |
|
Chelsea |
Joe Tyler |
0 |
V |
0 |
|
Everton |
Chris Goodwin |
1 |
V |
1 |
|
Fulham |
Neil Springate |
1 |
V |
0 |
|
Liverpool |
Mark Williams |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Man City |
Callum Rothwell |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Man Utd |
Peter Lee |
1 |
V |
0 |
|
Newcastle |
Michael Stout |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Norwich City |
Sue Read |
1 |
V |
0 |
|
QPR |
Arjun Swaminathan |
1 |
V |
0 |
|
Stoke City |
Philip Eccleston |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Sunderland |
Tony Ratton |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Tottenham |
Mike Richards |
2 |
V |
1 |
|
Swansea |
Jim White |
2 |
V |
1 |
|
West Brom |
Andy Wakeman |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Wigan |
Alan Moore |
0 |
V |
0 |
|
Wolves |
Chris Cox |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OUR EXPERTS |
|
|
|
|
|
Writer |
Colin Illingworth |
2 |
V |
1 |
|
Writer |
Steve Coulter |
1 |
V |
1 |
|
Writer |
Phil Bundy |
1 |
V |
0 |
|
Writer |
Mitch Waddon |
0 |
V |
0 |
|
Writer |
Matt Turner |
1 |
V |
0 |
|
Writer |
Chris Pettitt |
2 |
V |
3 |
|
Writer |
Hugh Larkin |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Aston Villa fan |
Lynette Ranson |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Blackpool fan |
Phil Trow |
1 |
V |
1 |
|
Boro fan |
Sue Gardener |
TBA |
V |
TBA |
|
Fulham fan |
Russell Goldman |
3 |
V |
0 |
|
Pompey fan |
Dan Taylor |
1 |
V |
0 |
|
Pompey fan |
Peter Rendle |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
West Ham fan |
Matthew Beeby |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
West Ham fan |
Nigel Telfer |
2 |
V |
0 |
|
Editor |
Antony Melvin |
1 |
V |
2 |
Panel Verdict
Fulham are tipped to bounce back from their Euro heartache.
Home: 27; Draw: 6; Away: 2. TBC 1.
* Do we have it right or do you know better? We’d love to hear from you.
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