Bolton v Rochdale

Ten games, nine losses and an almost certain date with Stevenage and Macclesfield next season; life does look tough for Bolton at this moment in time. They’ve conceded 25 goals this season and are the original ‘crisis-club’. Oddly, there’s still a positive vibe around the University of Bolton Stadium, with fans perhaps understanding of the plight their team are in.

They’re competitive at the moment though and on home soil, they’ve only conceded six goals. That’s fewer than Wycombe in second and Peterborough in third. Their biggest problem is scoring; they’ve bagged twice all season, one at home. However, they’ve still only lost one game at home and that’s partly due to the siege mentality that they’ve had instilled in them.

Rochdale have an average away record, two wins and a draw from six matches on the road, but they’ve conceded more on their travels than all but one of the sides outside the drop zone. Last weekend they beat Accrington at home, but were dominated for large parts of the game and languish in 17th place.

This is the third meeting between the two sides and Rochdale have previously won 5-2, as well as drawing 1-1 in the EFL Trophy. This will be a different Bolton though; they’ve made 943 passes in their last two games, a total it took four games to get past at the beginning of the season.

They’re also having more possession and with the home crowd on their side too, we think this has the potential to be their first win of the season.