Bolton, Brighton and Reading. Three Championship sides, three big name managers and three sets of fans all with one thing in common this weekend – desperation for three points at home.
All three sides are located in the bottom half of the Championship table,between them they have six wins in each of their last ten games. With Premier League expectation evident in all three clubs it really is time The Royals, The Seagulls and The Trotters turned around their disappointing form.
A £10.00 bet on Bolton, Brighton & Reading as a treble returns £74.60
Odds taken from WilliamHill partners of the72.co.uk
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1) Bolton v Brentford
New manager Neil Lennon has a real challenge on his hands to pick Bolton up and out of the relegation zone. The Trotters have lost seven of their last ten league games which led to the sacking of Dougie Freedman. Ex Celtic boss Lennon has had two games in charge winning the first and losing the second. The expectation at Bolton is that, a home fixture against a newly promoted side from League One should be three points. Brentford will no doubt have something to say, The Bees currently sit comfortably in twelfth place, eight points away from relegation. No doubt it’ll be a tough test for Lennon’s Bolton on Saturday but a test which needs to be passed.
2) Brighton v Rotherham
Brighton are currently winless in their last nine league games and are a point away from the relegation zone. The Seagulls have reached the play-offs consecutively in the last two seasons and it is obvious the aim for Brighton is to reach the play-offs with growing expectation for Premier League football. Questions and fingers are already, being pointed towards manager Sami Hyypia who took over the south coast club in the summer, the Finn really hasn’t been helped by the sales of key players and injuries throughout the first team. A huge week awaits Hyypia with a must win home game against Rotherham to avoid potentially slipping into the relegation zone, a glamour cup tie away at Spurs and a South Coast derby away to Bournemouth on November 1st. I’m sure all at Brighton will be hoping that Hyypia can turn the current bad fortune around. A home win Saturday is vital.
The Royals have conceded a whopping twenty three goals in the league so far this season, they currently have one of the worst defences in the league. With two back to back 3-0 defeats Nigel Adkins needs to turn the tide and get Reading to where they rightfully belong, in the top half of the Championship table. Failure to do so could see Adkins without a job come Christmas at the latest. Without a win in six Reading host bottom of the league Blackpool. A fixture which surely should be used to give the Reading home crowd something to cheer about.
For Neil Lennon time is on his side, being newly appointed. For both Hyypia and Adkins, they simply can’t afford to go another week winless.
