Bolton v Swans: The big talking points
Swansea City sign off before the last international break of 2018 with a trip to Bolton Wanderers this weekend.
Here are all the key discussion points heading into Saturday’s game.
University graduates?
Will a change of stadium name mean a change of fortune for the Swans? They must hope so.
After all, the club’s record on past trips to Bolton is not pretty.
The Swans have never won at what is now the University of Bolton Stadium – although they have only been there twice – while they endured a succession of fruitless trips to Bolton’s old Burnden Park home.
In all, the Swans have been to Bolton on 18 occasions and won only once, in a Second Division game in 1980.
Perhaps an away success is due this weekend?
Potter’s posers
Graham Potter has some decisions to make when it comes to selecting his team – and his substitutes – for this game.
Although the Swans were beaten last time out, Potter was pleased with large aspects of their performance.
It would not be a surprise, therefore, if he did not change too much – but some good news from the treatment room may have an impact on his selection decisions.
Jefferson Montero and Wilfried Bony are both set to travel after significant injury lay-offs, while Tom Carroll and George Byers are back in contention after injury issues.
Martin Olsson will also hope for a recall having sat on the bench at Rotherham last Saturday after some back problems.
Bolton’s barren run
The Swans may feel they are due a result at Bolton, but then the history books suggest Wanderers are due a good day at home.
Phil Parkinson’s team have lost their last three fixtures on their own patch – to Hull, Nottingham Forest and Blackburn – without so much as scoring a goal.
When was the last time Bolton were beaten in four successive home games without finding the target themselves?
It has never happened before.
Wanderers’ woes
Having stayed up thanks to two goals in the dying minutes of last season, Bolton started this campaign superbly, banking 10 of the first 12 points on offer.
Since then, however, they have taken only six more from a possible 36.
A big part of the problem has come when Bolton are on the attack.
Parkinson’s team have scored only 11 goals in their 16 league games to date this term, the lowest tally in the Championship.
Can they improve that record against a Swans side whose defensive record is bettered by only one club in the division?
Oli's hot streaks
Oli McBurnie heads to Bolton in buoyant mood having scored three times in his last two games to take his tally for the season to seven.
He has never scored in three straight matches for the Swans, although the early stages of his career suggest he is a streaky striker.
His first four goals of this campaign came in six games, while he scored seven in seven and three in six during two clusters while he was on loan at Barnsley last term.
Potter will hope his centre-forward is in the midst of another purple patch.
Travel troubles
The Swans go in search of a first away victory in six attempts this weekend.
They ought to have had at least one triumph during that sequence, having outplayed Rotherham and done more than enough to win at Wigan.
The Swans’ recent away form has been in stark contrast to their road trips in the early weeks of the season, when they took seven points from the first nine on offer.
If they are to dig out another away success on Saturday, they will need to take a higher percentage of the chances they create.
