This evening local rivals Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic meet at the Macron Stadium in a match that will test the character of two sides who haven’t been at their best.
Neil Lennon’s Wanderers side are currently second-bottom while the Latics lie just outside of the relegation zone.
Ahead of what is sure to be a heated clash, MM has had a look into the history of the rivalry and gathered the best fixtures between the two sides.
5. December 9 2007: Bolton 4-1 Wigan
Gary Megson’s Bolton took advantage of a poor display from Wigan with goals from Kevin Nolan, Kevin Davies and Nicolas Anelka following a Paul Scharner own goal.
Megson was delighted, claiming it was as big a win as beating Manchester United.
4. October 2 2005: Wigan 2-1 Bolton
The clubs’ first meeting in twelve years saw Wigan extended their unbeaten run to five games in the Premiership, frustrating Bolton’s attempt to go second in the table.
Wigan fans were treated to a fabulous chipped goal from Henri Camara and then a drilled strike from Lee McCulloch to give them three points.
Bolton pulled a goal back but their defensive errors cost them dearly and they couldn’t recover as Paul Jewell’s men left with the bragging rights.
3. March 13 2010: Bolton 4-0 Wigan
Johan Elmander, Davies, Fabrice Muamba and Matthew Taylor were the goal-scoring force in this clash that sent Bolton eight points clear of the drop zone against a struggling Wigan side.
Elmander scored after 10 minutes before Davies put away a second-half penalty following a Gary Caldwell tackle on Tamir Cohen.
Muamba scored just five minutes later and Taylor produced a fine finish to cap the win in emphatic style.
2. March 29 2014: Bolton 1-1 Wigan
Adam Bogdan saved a last-minute Jordi Gomez penalty, after the Latics clawed their way back from a 1-0 deficit.
Lukas Jutkiewicz scored in the first half for Bolton and they held onto their lead for most of the match before Wigan’s Nick Powell smashed home with just two minutes to go.
Wigan manager Uwe Rosler commented: “Should I be happy? Should I be disappointed? I don’t know!”
And Bolton boss Dougie Freedman was left fuming at the referee for what he saw as an egregiously erroneous penalty decision.
1. December 15 2013: Wigan 3-2 Bolton
This meeting was Rosler’s first Championship match and it turned out to be a baptism of fire as his side survived a swashbuckling Bolton fight-back.
The Latics went 2-0 up in 25 minutes with a Ben Watson penalty and a splendiferous overhead kick from Nick Powell.
Bolton managed to re-group at the break and pulled the scores level through Neil Danns’ header and a penalty of their own, which Andre Moritz sent home.
But just four minutes later, Callum McManaman side-footed the ball in following a flicked header from Emmerson Boyce to clinch victory for the home side.
Previously Wigan had been on a poor run of form but Rosler’s arrival seemed to spark an instantaneous revival, transforming his side into an effortlessly-efficient goal machine.
Image courtesy of Wigan Athletic via YouTube, with thanks.
Videos courtesy of Bolton Wanderers FC and Wigan Athletic via YouTube, with thanks.
