Dec 29

Premier League: Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Hull City

Bolton have still not kept a clean sheet all season, and even though they held a two-goal lead in the 70th minute here, their efforts to break out of the bottom three were undone by two late goals from Stephen Hunt.

From being reasonably happy with what looked like it would turn out to be a hard-earned victory on a freezing night, the Bolton fans rounded on their manager again when Hull came back into the game, with chants of “Megson out” after Hunt scored his second.

It did not help that with the score at 2-1, Megson had enraged home supporters by withdrawing Ivan Klasnic, goalscorer and current crowd favourite, in order to shore up the midfield with Gavin McCann. The tactic backfired almost immediately, Hunt scoring from a narrow angle after heading in his first from Craig Fagan’s cross, and Bolton were left hanging on.

The game was as numbingly cheerless as the weather until Klasnic fashioned a goal from nowhere in the 20th minute to give Bolton the lead. Prior to that, just two optimistic attempts from Lee Chung-yong and Fabrice Muamba had brought murmurs of approval from the home crowd, even though both had sailed well over Boaz Myhill’s bar. There seemed no particular danger when Lee nodded a ball back to Klasnic on the edge of the D, which made his accurate low drive into Myhill’s bottom left corner all the more impressive. The Croatian looked up, shot early, and beat the goalkeeper’s dive for his fourth goal in four games, and his sixth of the season for Bolton.

Andy Dawson saw a free-kick turned around a post by Jussi Jaaskelainen shortly afterwards, though the Bolton goalkeeper survived a scare when he came for a cross and failed to collect, leaving Stephen Hunt a free header that Gretar Steinson managed to deflect awat from goal for a corner. Hunt was a lively presence on the Hull left wing, even if his crossing was erratic. He dispossessed Lee in the closing minutes of the first half to set up an attack from which Jozy Altidore won a free-kick, only to put a shot well wide of Jaaskelainen’s goal after a laborious dummy routine had successfully fooled the Bolton wall.

Matt Taylor put a free-kick wide at the start of the second half, then put an even better opportunity into the crowd from one of Kevin Davies’s knock-downs. At the other end Kamil Zayatte went close with a header from a corner. Not that close, actually, but just being in the Bolton six yard area was nosebleed territory for Hull. It was significant that Hull’s chance should fall to a defender, and more significant still that when Brown tried to beef up his attack he could only turn to a pair of veterans in Nick Barmby and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

By the time the latter arrived Bolton thought they had made the game safe through a Kevin Davies goal. Considering Bolton have a reputation for scoring from set pieces, and this wasn’t even a slick routine but a route one, straight down the middle free-kick, Hull’s defending was slack. It was obvious Paul Robinson would aim for Davies, yet everyone including Myhill stood off him, and by the time the goalkeeper tried to reach the ball the striker had stretched to nod it past him.

Premier LeagueBolton WanderersHull CityPaul Wilsonguardian.co.uk

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Oct 30

Premier League team news: Defensive headache for Manchester United

• Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand doubtful for Manchester United
• Boaz Myhill injury adds to Hull’s problems

Birmingham City v Manchester City
Mark Hughes expects Kolo Touré and Martin Petrov to be back in the squad for Sunday’s trip to Birmingham City, having missed the midweek Carling Cup win over Scunthorpe with minor injuries.

Wayne Bridge and Craig Bellamy, both rested to the bench for that fourth round tie, are also likely to be back in the side. Hughes has virtually a fully fit squad to chose from, with only Nedum Onuoha and Robinho still recovering from injuries. Both are close to returning.

Man City (from): Given, Richard, Zabaleta, Lescott, Touré, Bridge, Kompany, Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Bellamy, De Jong, Barry, Sylvinho, Santa Cruz, Adebayor, Tevez, Taylor, Weiss, Johnson.

Burnley v Hull City
Owen Coyle will give goalkeeper Brian Jensen “every chance” to recover from the injury he sustained in last weekend’s home defeat to Wigan Athletic.

X-rays revealed that Jensen, who has yet to resume full training, had suffered only slight ligament damage to his ankle so Diego Penny is on stand-by for tomorrow’s meeting with Hull should he be needed. Stephen Jordan suffered a thigh strain in the same game but is expected to recover in time.

Burnley are still without long-term absentees Martin Paterson, Chris McCann (both knee) and Jay Rodriguez (ankle).

Troubled Hull will be without their goalkeeper Boaz Myhill tomorrow. The Wales international injured his medial knee ligaments in the closing stages of last weekend’s goalless draw with Portsmouth and will sit out the match, though the under-pressure manager Phil Brown is hopeful he will not prove a long-term absentee.

The midfielder Jimmy Bullard did not train with his team-mates yesterday due to a shin injury and a decision is still to be made on his participation at Turf Moor.

Burnley (from): Jensen, Caldwell, Mears, Eckersley, Duff, Carlisle, Bikey, Jordan, Alexander, Fletcher, Elliott, Blake, Thompson, Eagles, Penny, Kalvanes, Gudjonsson, Edgar, Easton, Nugent, Guerrero.

Hull City (from): Warner, Duke, McShane, Kilbane, Sonko, Dawson, Barmby, Marney, Zayatte, Geovanni, Hunt, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Ghilas, Mendy, Altidore, Bullard, Gardner, Mouyokolo, Olofinjana, Cousin, Halmosi, Boateng, Fagan, Garcia, Cooper, Atkinson, Featherstone.

Everton v Aston Villa
The Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel could make his 200th successive Premier League performance tomorrow. Friedel is likely to replace Brad Guzan even though his fellow American made three penalty shoot-out saves in the midweek Carling Cup win over Sunderland.

Stephen Warnock is battling to overcome an ankle injury suffered at the Stadium of Light and Nicky Shorey could deputise if he is ruled out.

The striker Emile Heskey and the midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker picked up knocks but Villa manager Martin O’Neill is hopeful of having them available. John Carew and Steve Sidwell, who made way for the pair at Sunderland, will be in contention for a recall to the starting line-up.

Aston Villa (from) Friedel, Guzan, Cuellar, Beye, Luke Young, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Shorey, Milner, Petrov, Sidwell, Reo-Coker, Delph, Gardner, Ashley Young, Agbonlahor, Carew, Heskey, Delfouneso, Clark.

Manchester United v Blackburn Rovers
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has defensive problems ahead of the match against Blackburn at Old Trafford tomorrow. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand are both doubtful with calf problems and Gary Neville is suspended.

Ryan Giggs also has a knock and Danny Welbeck, who scored in the Carling Cup victory against Barnsley in midweek, is sidelined with a knee injury.

Darren Fletcher and Ji-Sung Park remain absent with groin and knee injuries respectively.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Foster, O’Shea, Vidic, Ferdinand, Brown, J Evans, Evra, Anderson, Rafael, Carrick, Scholes, Valencia, Giggs, Rooney, Barbatov, Nani, Owen, Macheda, Obertan, Fabio, Tosic.

Portsmouth v Wigan Athletic
Portsmouth welcome back Kevin-Prince Boateng, Jamie O’Hara, Mike Williamson and Tommy Smith tomorrow. The four were cup-tied for Tuesday’s Carling Cup win over Stoke City.

Papa Bouba Diop (hamstring) and Hermann Hreidarsson (foot tendon) are still recovering and will not feature against the Latics.

Wigan will be without Maynor Figueroa as the Honduran full-back recovers from a knee injury. He is expected to be sidelined for up to seven weeks after suffering the setback in the victory against Burnley.

Paul Scharner is doubtful with a hamstring injury while the goalkeeper Chris Kirkland remains troubled by a dislocated finger.

Portsmouth (from): James, Kaboul, Mokoena, Mullins, Kanu, Basinas, Belhadj, Vanden Borre, Piquionne, Ben-Haim, Yebda, Dindane, Finnan, Webber, Brown, Wilson, Ashdown, O’Hara, Boateng, Williamson, Smith.

Wigan Athletic (from): Kirkland, Bramble, Scharner, Gomez, Melchiot, Boyce, N’Zogbia, Diame, Thomas, Scotland, Rodallega, Koumas, Sinclair, Pollitt, Cho, Kapo, Kingson, McCarthy.

Stoke City v Wolverhampton Wanderers
The Stoke City manager Tony Pulis is expected to recall his goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen to the line-up following the Dane’s late withdrawal at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend with flu.

Steve Simonsen stepped in and performed heroics to secure a 1-0 win at White Hart Lane, and was again in the side that lost 4-0 at Portsmouth in the Carling Cup on Tuesday.

Pulis also has to decide whether to bring Mamady Sidibe into the reckoning after the striker’s return to action at Fratton Park following a knee injury. Tuncay also performed well at Portsmouth and could force his way into a side still missing the suspended Robert Huth.

Wolves welcome back the striker Stefan Maierhofer after the Austrian served a one-match ban. However, the manager Mick McCarthy is poised to name an unchanged starting line-up, with Maierhofer on the bench as Kevin Doyle and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake continue in attack.

The on-loan Chelsea central defender Michael Mancienne is available again after missing the last two games through illness.

Stoke City (from): Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Faye, Collins, Delap, Whelan, Whitehead, Diao, Etherington, Beattie, Tuncay, Fuller, Higginbotham, Cort, Lawrence, Kitson, Pugh, Simonsen, Sidibe.

Wolves (from): Hennessey, Hahnemann, Zubar, Stearman, Berra, Mancienne, Craddock, Elokobi, Hill, Kightly, Halford, Henry, Milijas, Surman, Castillo, Edwards, Jarvis, Ebanks-Blake, Iwelumo, Keogh, Maierhofer, Doyle.

Sunderland v West Ham United
Sunderland striker Darren Bent is facing a race to be fit tomorrow as he battles to overcome a knee problem.

The forward missed Tuesday’s Carling Cup penalty shoot-out defeat by Aston Villa but is rated as better than 50-50 for the Hammers clash, after returning to training yesterday.

Fellow striker Fraizer Campbell is a doubt after suffering a knock against Villa, while Phil Bardsley (shoulder) and George McCartney (hip) are also touch-and-go. Midfielder Bolo Zenden and centre-back John Mensah are ruled out. Lee Cattermole is a long-term absentee with knee ligament damage.

Sunderland (from): Gordon, Fulop, Bardsley, Da Silva, Nosworthy, Ferdinand, Turner, Richardson, McCartney, Reid, Malbranque, Cana, Henderson, Campbell, Jones, Bent, Healy, Murphy.

Premier LeagueManchester UnitedBlackburn RoversHull CityBurnleyEvertonAston VillaPortsmouthWigan AthleticStoke CityWolverhampton WanderersSunderlandWest Ham Unitedguardian.co.uk

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