Bolton will be gunning for their second win in succession for the first time since April when they host Newcastle United on Monday.
The last time Bolton won consecutive English Premier League games came thanks to a 3-0 win against West Ham, followed by a 2-1 home triumph against Arsenal.
But victories against the likes of Arsenal seem an unlikely prospect for Owen Coyle’s men, who sit second-bottom on the league table with four wins and 13 losses from their 17 fixtures.
Somewhat amazingly, they have not played in a draw this season.
Bolton were at the foot of the table before their 2-1 success at Blackburn on Tuesday, and Coyle will be hoping that win gives his side the momentum it needs to climb out of the relegation zone.
His side have kept just two clean sheets this season, however, and have conceded a league-high 39 goals.
Newcastle will take confidence from that and the fact that, of Bolton’s four wins, just one has come at home.
The visitors desperately need a win to arrest a five-match winless streak which has seen them slip to seventh on the table.
They have been hugely reliant on Demba Ba (13 goals) to score and when the Senegal forward is away on African Nations Cup duty in January, Newcastle will struggle to replace him.
But Pardew will make the most of Ba while he is in action and, with five goals in his past five matches, he will be salivating at taking on a Bolton defence that has been poor this season.
The hosts have a lengthy injury list, with the likes of long-term absentees Stuart Holden, Lee Chung-Yong and Tyrone Mears joined by Sean Davis, David N’Gog, Ricardo Gardner and Sam Ricketts on the sidelines.
Crucially, Newcastle are without Steven Taylor (ruptured Achilles) but his defensive partner Fabricio Coloccini recently returned.
Danny Guthrie, Peter Lovenkrands and Sylvain Marveaux are also missing the match through injury.
The last meeting between the two sides ended in a 5-1 win to Bolton, but a similar result on Monday is unlikely.
