Premier League preview: Bolton v Stoke City

Struggling Bolton Wanderers will look to get their English Premier League season back on track when they host Stoke City on Sunday.

Bolton are 19th on the table and just one point above bottom side Wigan, after losing four of their last five league matches.

And they were dealt a blow this week when loan signing Dedryck Boyata joined the clubs’s lengthy injury list, with an ankle injury expected to sideline the defender until December.

He joins midfielders Chung Yong Lee and Stuart Holden and defender Tyrone Mears on the treatment table.

Veteran defender Ricardo Gardner is suspended for Bolton.

And rumours of an argument between Nigel Reo Coker and some of his teammates are unlikely to help morale among Owen Coyle’s players.

Stoke, the visitors to the Reebok Stadium, defeated Hapoel Tel Aviv 2-1 in the Europa League on Thursday.

But they will need to recover quickly from the long trip to Israel, with the match against Bolton their third fixture in the space of six days.

Stoke sit 11th in the Premier League table, six points ahead of Bolton.

Their confidence may have been dented when they suffered a rare home defeat on Monday, going down 3-1 to Newcastle United.

It was their first loss in the league this season at the Britannia Stadium, though Stoke may take some confidence from their trouncing of Bolton last time the two sides met.

Stoke triumphed 5-0 in that clash in April, coming in last season’s FA Cup semi-finals.

Defender Ryan Shawcross and midfielder Marc Wilson picked up knocks against Newcastle and are in doubt for Sunday’s match.

But Stoke manager Tony Pulis hopes to be able to recall Danny Higginbotham after a seven-month injury layoff.