By John MurrayBBC Match of the Day commentator Venue: Reebok StadiumDate: Sunday, 6 NovemberKick-off: 1500 GMTCoverage: Watch highlights on Match of the Day 2; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and local radio; text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Premier League
Bolton will be without full-back Ricardo Gardner for Sunday's match following his sending off at Swansea.
Paul Robinson could replace the Jamaican, while captain Kevin Davies will also hope to return to the starting line-up.
Stoke will assess defenders Ryan Shawcross and Marc Wilson, who were both forced off against Newcastle because of injury.
Matthew Etherington, Jermaine Pennant and Rory Delap are also doubts.
When this game kicks off, Bonfire Night will have come and gone and still Bolton have not won at home in the Premier League. In fact, it's worse than that. They have yet to collect a single point at the Reebok Stadium this season.
Continue reading the main storyBolton will be hoping this meeting with Stoke can mark the beginning of an upturn in their fortunes - they certainly need it
Admittedly, the Manchester clubs and Chelsea have been two of their five visitors but then so have Norwich and Sunderland. And having commentated on the Sunderland game for Radio 5 Live, I know they were particularly limp that day.
This is their first home game since losing to Steve Bruce's side, but perhaps it's with the arrival of Stoke City that we get to the root of the problem. There seems to be a widely held belief that the downward spiral can be traced back to when the sides last met, at Wembley on 17 April, when Stoke cantered to that humbling 5-0 FA Cup semi-final victory.
Since then Bolton have lost 13 of 16 league games and with a quarter of the season now gone it has become a serious situation. The fact they have conceded more goals per game than any of the other 91 league clubs does not make the picture any rosier.
However, there has to be a tiny glimmer of hope. Since losing at Swansea on Saturday they have, metaphorically, had their feet up. Meanwhile, Stoke were beaten at home by Newcastle on Monday, before going to Tel Aviv and back. And while Tony Pulis did make nine changes for Thursday's game against the Israelis, it is a matter of fact that after their only previous away trip in the group stage of the Europa League, to Kiev in September, they lost 4-0 at Sunderland the following Sunday.
Bolton will be hoping this meeting with Stoke can mark the beginning of an upturn in their fortunes - they certainly need it.
Head-to-head
Stoke visited the Reebok Stadium in their first ever Premier League fixture, losing 3-1 on 16 August 2008.The Potters have won only two of their last 10 league games against Bolton, although that includes the last meeting, a 2-0 victory at the Britannia Stadium on 15 January.Stoke have not claimed maximum points away to Bolton since a 1-0 victory at Burnden Park on 6 October 1990 in Division Three.The last time Stoke won a top-flight game at Bolton was on 12 October 1963, back in the days when Sir Stanley Matthews still turned out for the Potters, though the great outside-right did not play in the 4-3 victory at Burnden Park.Bolton
Bolton's form has collapsed since losing 5-0 to Stoke in an FA Cup semi-final on 17 April. Although they won their first match after the thrashing at Wembley (beating Arsenal), they have since lost 13 of 15 Premier League games (W2, L13).Wanderers have lost eight of their opening 10 top-flight matches for the first time since the 1902-03 campaign. They finished bottom that season.Owen Coyle's side have conceded 27 goals in 10 league games this term, an average of 2.7 goals per game - comfortably the worst record in the four divisions of English football. Only once before has a Premier League side conceded more goals in their opening 10 matches - Barnsley let in 28 in the 1997-98 season.Stoke
The Potters have scored 75% of their goals from set-pieces this season, the highest percentage in the Premier League.They have recorded one clean sheet in their last six league games.Tony Pulis's side have won all three top-flight matches this term in which they opened the scoring, but have claimed just two points from the six games in which they conceded the first goal (D2, L4).Stoke have scored just two first-half goals, the worst record in the top flight.