Bolton Wanderers v Cardiff City. Match preview

Last updated : 23 December 2017 By Michael Morris

C:WindowsTempphpFA84.tmpBolton defender Mark Little is hoping to prove his fitness for the visit of Cardiff in the Sky Bet Championship.

Little missed last weekend's defeat by Burton and had an injection in midweek. Manager Phil Parkinson otherwise has no fresh injury concerns. Captain Darren Pratley should be able to continue, although he has not completed 90 minutes in the last two games due to a knee problem.

Cardiff boss Neil Warnock is hopeful of welcoming back a host of players over the next few weeks, although the visit to the Macron Stadium is likely to come too soon for most. Kadeem Harris and Rhys Healey, named on the bench for the 1-0 win over Hull last week, are back in training.

Craig Bryson (Achilles) and Kenneth Zohore (ankle) are also stepping up their progress from injury and could return in the new year. Omar Bogle overcame a calf problem to play a cameo against the Tigers and will be pushing for a starting role this weekend.

But it's bad news for Danny Ward who could miss most of the rest of the season after knee surgery and Aron Gunnarsson has had ankle surgery that will see him out for a further month.

Opta Stats

The Trotters have won 11 of their last 12 home league matches against Cardiff - but they lost the most recent one in December 2015 (2-3).

The Bluebirds haven't kept a clean sheet against Bolton in any of their last eight league meetings, since winning 1-0 in January 1989.

Bolton have conceded the highest proportion of their opponents' shots in the Championship this season (14.2%), while Cardiff have conceded the lowest (6.8%)

Neil Warnock has never won away from home at Bolton in his managerial career (D4 L5), with this his first visit there since October 2012 when he was Leeds boss.

Cardiff City could win their 11th away game of 2017 in this match - they have only managed 11+ away victories in two previous calendar years: 11 in 1993 and 13 in 2002.

Anthony Pilkington has scored in each of his two away league appearances at the Macron Stadium (two goals) and has three goals in four league games against Bolton in total.

Match Officials

Referee: ROBERT JONES
Assistants: Mark Dwyer and Mark Jones
Fourth Official: Tom Nield