WATFORD return to Football League Championship action following the international break as they host a resurgent Bolton Wanderers side at Vicarage Road.
Whilst Gianfranco Zola`s Hornets were glad to see the end of their league duties for a fortnight, Dougie Freedman`s Wanderers will have been disappointed after stringing together back-to-back wins for the first time all season.
A slow start to last season under current Wigan Athletic boss Owen Coyle saw Freedman leave Crystal Palace – themselves flying – to move to Lancashire and a club with ‘greater potential`.
That decision has backfired somewhat so far with the Eagles now a Premier League outfit – albeit not for very long – and Bolton – until recently – floundering at the foot of the Championship table.
Winless until the 11th round of fixtures, Phil Gartside and the Bolton board have backed Freedman so far, refusing to pull the trigger after a slow start to the season. The former striker`s cause has undoubtedly been aided by the club`s form last season after he took over, which saw the Trotters finish just outside the top six following a fine run of form.
Unfortunately for Freedman and co., the realities of another season of Championship football have begun to bite, and as a result, an overhaul of the squad during the summer has seen a number of new faces come into The Reebok.
Veteran forward and club captain Kevin Davies was unceremoniously dumped, whilst Spanish left-back Mikel Alonso has headed for pastures new and Fiorentina. Welsh international full-back Sam Ricketts joined Wolverhampton Wanderers on a free, whilst Marvin Sordell and Keith Andrews have been packed off on loan.
The squad as it currently stands reflects Freedman much more, but the inevitable consequence of signing 14 new faces – three of them on loan deals – is the lack of cohesion and time required to gel that follows – something that Zola himself is finding out so far.
There is still undoubted star quality in the Trotters` squad, with former Watford man Chris Eagles once such example.
Born in Hemel Hempstead, the fleet-footed winger moved to Manchester United as a teenager before twice returning to WD18 on loan between 2004 and 2006.
Eventually snapped up by Coyle and Burnley for a seven-figure sum, Eagles flourished under the Scot before following his manager – controversially – to The Reebok as the Clarets were relegated from the top-flight.
With 19 goals in all competitions for Bolton in the two-and-a-half years since his move across Lancashire, the 28 year-old winger has established himself as a key man in the side for both Coyle and Freedman.
An ever-present at the back, former Blackpool, Mansfield, Burton Albion and Tamworth centre-half has quickly made himself one of the first names on the teamsheet following his summer move from Bloomfield Road.
Signed on a free transfer, the 27 year-old has notched three times in his first 15 league outings for Wanderers, making him the club`s second-highest scorer in the league to fellow new-boy, Jermaine Beckford (four goals).
Baptiste worked his way up from the bottom of the Football League, starting out as a trainee at Mansfield before joining Tamworth and Burton on short-term deals before making his breakthrough at Field Mill.
After 173 league starts in four years, Baptiste joined Ian Holloway`s Blackpool on a free transfer, making another 168 starts for the Tangerines in five years before re-locating to Bolton over the summer.
Bolton have a lengthy injury list, with on-loan defender Kevin McNaughton, USA international Stuart Holden, Joe Riley, Marc Tierney and goalkeeper Adam Bogdan all sidelined.
Predicted line-ups:
Watford: Almunia (capt); Cassetti, Angella, Ekstrand; Faraoni, Murray, Thorne, McEachran, Pudil; Forestieri & Deeney.
Bolton Wanderers: Lonergan; Ream, Mills, Knight, Baptiste; Medo, Spearing; Lee, Danns, Hall; Beckford.
Kick-off: 15.00
Referee: Mr B Malone
Radio: BBC Three Counties & Hornets Player
Highlights: The Football League Show (BBC 1 @ 23.55)
