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Wanderers may be forced to change a winning team after doubts emerged over the fitness of Marc Wilson and Gary O’Neil.
Phil Parkinson has confirmed Wilson reported a tight hamstring after the 1-0 victory against Birmingham City on Tuesday night, while O’Neil was replaced at the half-time break because of a calf injury.
That may mean he reverts to a back four, with Jonathan Grounds returning on the left side of defence, and that Luke Murphy comes into midfield for his first start in five games.
Jack Hobbs (Achilles), Andy Taylor (calf), Luca Connell (calf), Yanic Wildschut (ankle) and Joe Williams (thigh) are all still sidelined.
Parkinson was pleased with he adaptability his players showed at St Andrew’s, when injuries and unavailability again shaped the formation.
After successfully tackling Birmingham’s diamond midfield and direct attack, the Bolton boss now attempts to outdo one of the Championship’s most technical opponents. Only Leeds United and Brentford have kept possession better than Norwich this season and after watching Preston beat the Canaries 3-1 at Deepdale on Wednesday night, Parkinson is now looking to follow suit.
“There was a lot of soul-searching between me and Steve (Parkin) on Sunday talking about what we needed to do against Birmingham,” he said. “Monday’s training and Tuesday morning we’d looked at the game-plan, and we’d worked on matching that up. We thought they would change to a four (in midfield) at one point, so we’d gone through that scenario.
“I was pleased with the way the lads adapted. It is about sticking to the game-plan and playing in that structure and I think we did that well.”
One of the key factors of Tuesday night’s win was a solid back three, bolstered by the return to fitness of Mark Beevers.
As highlighted in the build-up to the game, Wanderers’ results have improved significantly when Beevers has played alongside David Wheater this season, their record now standing at six wins, four draws and five defeats in 15 outings.
Parkinson was pleased with both players’ performance at St Andrew’s and, given Wilson’s potential injury, could restore them to a straightforward centre-back pairing again tomorrow.
“Wheater is great in the middle of a back three and the couple of times he got ran down the channel by Che Adams he was right with him, he was excellent. He plays that position so well,” he said.
“Beevs has been out for a couple of weeks and has had a chest infection. When we picked the team and had a meeting with myself and the rest of the staff Matty Barrass said he didn’t think Beevs would be able to play. He’s ill.
“We got some drugs in him during the day – legitimate ones, of course – but he did great. He headed everything and I thought some of his distribution was very good as well.”
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Phil Parkinson has confirmed Wilson reported a tight hamstring after the 1-0 victory against Birmingham City on Tuesday night, while O’Neil was replaced at the half-time break because of a calf injury.
That may mean he reverts to a back four, with Jonathan Grounds returning on the left side of defence, and that Luke Murphy comes into midfield for his first start in five games.
Jack Hobbs (Achilles), Andy Taylor (calf), Luca Connell (calf), Yanic Wildschut (ankle) and Joe Williams (thigh) are all still sidelined.
Parkinson was pleased with he adaptability his players showed at St Andrew’s, when injuries and unavailability again shaped the formation.
After successfully tackling Birmingham’s diamond midfield and direct attack, the Bolton boss now attempts to outdo one of the Championship’s most technical opponents. Only Leeds United and Brentford have kept possession better than Norwich this season and after watching Preston beat the Canaries 3-1 at Deepdale on Wednesday night, Parkinson is now looking to follow suit.
“There was a lot of soul-searching between me and Steve (Parkin) on Sunday talking about what we needed to do against Birmingham,” he said. “Monday’s training and Tuesday morning we’d looked at the game-plan, and we’d worked on matching that up. We thought they would change to a four (in midfield) at one point, so we’d gone through that scenario.
“I was pleased with the way the lads adapted. It is about sticking to the game-plan and playing in that structure and I think we did that well.”
One of the key factors of Tuesday night’s win was a solid back three, bolstered by the return to fitness of Mark Beevers.
As highlighted in the build-up to the game, Wanderers’ results have improved significantly when Beevers has played alongside David Wheater this season, their record now standing at six wins, four draws and five defeats in 15 outings.
Parkinson was pleased with both players’ performance at St Andrew’s and, given Wilson’s potential injury, could restore them to a straightforward centre-back pairing again tomorrow.
“Wheater is great in the middle of a back three and the couple of times he got ran down the channel by Che Adams he was right with him, he was excellent. He plays that position so well,” he said.
“Beevs has been out for a couple of weeks and has had a chest infection. When we picked the team and had a meeting with myself and the rest of the staff Matty Barrass said he didn’t think Beevs would be able to play. He’s ill.
“We got some drugs in him during the day – legitimate ones, of course – but he did great. He headed everything and I thought some of his distribution was very good as well.”
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