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Wanderers must find a way to extinguish an old flame if they are to beat Birmingham City tonight.
Phil Parkinson ear-marked front man Lukas Jutkiewicz as a potentially key man in the Blues’ side at St Andrew’s.
The former Southampton striker had a successful spell on loan with Bolton a few years ago and was on the club’s shortlist in the summer as a man who could spearhead their attack this season.
Jutkiewicz scored a winner against Wanderers last April but was kept quiet at the University of Bolton Stadium in August as Parkinson’s men carved out a narrow victory.
The Wanderers boss expects a similar all-action affair and has called on his players to up their game if they want to match Jutkiewicz and Co.
“We need to get some points on the board this week to give everybody a lift at the training ground and the supporters,” he told The Bolton News.
“We beat them earlier in the season, we know what type of game it is going to be.
“Birmingham are not the kind of team who’ll bowl the ball out and play from the back. They are a competitive team who get the ball up to Jutkiewicz quickly and we have to be ready to contend with that.
“They have used pretty much the same personnel – Jota and Maghoma either side – even though they have played a diamond in midfield over the last few games.
“We know what to expect from them. We know it will be a tough game and we have to match them.”
Jutkiewicz has also helped bring the best out of Blues youngster Che Adams, who has weighed in with 19 goals in the Championship this season and has started to attract admiring glances from the Premier League.
Wanderers moved into third place in the table as a hotly-disputed goal from Josh Magennis earned them three points when the two sides last met. Parkinson expects similar fayre to be served up tonight.
“If you look at that game it was a real full-on committed performance from both teams. No quarter given, at all,” he said.
“I knew it would be a tight game separated by an odd goal, similar to the one where they beat us at home the season before.
“This game will be no different, it will be tight, and we have to be more competitive than we were at the weekend.”
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Phil Parkinson ear-marked front man Lukas Jutkiewicz as a potentially key man in the Blues’ side at St Andrew’s.
The former Southampton striker had a successful spell on loan with Bolton a few years ago and was on the club’s shortlist in the summer as a man who could spearhead their attack this season.
Jutkiewicz scored a winner against Wanderers last April but was kept quiet at the University of Bolton Stadium in August as Parkinson’s men carved out a narrow victory.
The Wanderers boss expects a similar all-action affair and has called on his players to up their game if they want to match Jutkiewicz and Co.
“We need to get some points on the board this week to give everybody a lift at the training ground and the supporters,” he told The Bolton News.
“We beat them earlier in the season, we know what type of game it is going to be.
“Birmingham are not the kind of team who’ll bowl the ball out and play from the back. They are a competitive team who get the ball up to Jutkiewicz quickly and we have to be ready to contend with that.
“They have used pretty much the same personnel – Jota and Maghoma either side – even though they have played a diamond in midfield over the last few games.
“We know what to expect from them. We know it will be a tough game and we have to match them.”
Jutkiewicz has also helped bring the best out of Blues youngster Che Adams, who has weighed in with 19 goals in the Championship this season and has started to attract admiring glances from the Premier League.
Wanderers moved into third place in the table as a hotly-disputed goal from Josh Magennis earned them three points when the two sides last met. Parkinson expects similar fayre to be served up tonight.
“If you look at that game it was a real full-on committed performance from both teams. No quarter given, at all,” he said.
“I knew it would be a tight game separated by an odd goal, similar to the one where they beat us at home the season before.
“This game will be no different, it will be tight, and we have to be more competitive than we were at the weekend.”
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