Norwich City v Bolton Betting Tip Norwich and Over 2.5 goals – 8 December 2018

Norwich to continue winning run

Premier League Tips

Saturday 8th December 1500hrs Norwich City v Bolton Wanderers Football – England – Championship It’s shaping up to be the most fascinating Championship in recent memory as, just as we approach the chaotic festive period, the top seven teams are separated by six points. The team who leads the way (albeit narrowly) will be looking to cement their place at the top of the table with their opponents fighting for their lives at the other end of the table. We know to take nothing for granted in this league, though, so continue reading for a match preview of Norwich against Bolton with a selected best betting tip.

When teams were being mentioned as potential promotion candidates, Norwich would probably have featured well down the list for most people. It’s a club who have been struggling to make an impact in the top end of the table for the last period, underlined by their 14th place finish in the previous season. There were signs, however, that under Daniel Farke the Canaries were improving and although their current position is most definitely a surprise, they are there on merit. Norwich are on a great run at the moment and have won four of their last five scoring 15 goals in the process. It’s a tremendous run and if you take it back even further then it’s only one defeat in their last 15 Championship matches. Contrast that to their form at the beginning of the season when they managed only one win in their first five games and it’s been a dramatic turnaround. We know how competitive this league is and there’s a long way to go, but as shown in the last few weeks by recovering to win games from losing positions, this Norwich team are resilient and their attacking approach to the game is certainly paying dividends at the moment.

As good as it’s been for Norwich, it’s been the complete opposite for Bolton Wanderers. Considering it’s a club who survived only on the final day of last season then it shouldn’t really be a surprise and we know the financial troubles that exist. Indeed, it was an excellent achievement from Phil Parkinson and his coaching team and it would be an even better one if they can do so again. At the moment, it’s looking pretty bleak with Bolton’s last win coming all the way back at the end of September. Since the 1-1 win at home to Derby, Parkinson’s men have lost seven games and drawn three. In that run of 10 games they have scored only three goals which illustrates exactly where their problems lie. No team has scored fewer than Bolton this season and it’s the main reason why they find themselves second bottom. That said, they’re only in the relegation zone courtesy of goal difference and the struggles of the other teams around them will give them as much hope as anything else. A couple of morale boosting draws away to Millwall and at home to Wigan in recent weeks certainly show they have battling qualities – the challenge now is to merge that with a more potent attack and they could well pull themselves to safety.

Norwich City v Bolton Wanderers Betting Tip

There are 22 points between these two teams and that’s a good an indication as any to illustrate the difference between Norwich and Bolton so far. The current leaders have also scored 22 goals more thus far but conceded just four less so we can see how important scoring goals in this league has become in recent times.

Points are much needed for both teams heading into Saturday’s clash, but for very different reasons. A win would see Norwich remain top and if we are being brutally honest, this is exactly the sort of game they have to be winning in order to achieve automatic promotion. For Bolton, they look very up against it at the moment and things won’t get any easier with their next game being a trip to face Leeds – who currently sit in second spot. Any points they get from either of these games would undoubtedly be a bonus as things stand.

Norwich have been beaten three times at Carrow Road this season so they can be vulnerable but their recent results are very strong, winning their last four. Bolton had a really strong start to this season, particularly on the road where they won two of their first three. It’s been downhill since then, though, as they have scored a measly four goals since and gained the same number of points. Games between top and bottom in the Championship always carry some trepidation but on this occasion it all points to a home win. Four of Norwich’s last five win have been with three or more goals scored in them and I’m backing a similar outcome against Bolton.

Selection: Norwich to win and Over 2.5 goals 23/20 @ Ladbrokes