The Reebok Stadium will host the Premier League match on Sunday 21 August, when Bolton host Manchester City in what promises to be an intriguing match between two sides who have won their opening matches by an identical 4-0 margin.
In their opening game of the current Premiership campaign, Bolton visited Loftus Road to meet newly promoted Queens Park Rangers.
QPR gave a reasonable account of itself and the game was goalless in the first 44 minutes. In fact, the home team was unlucky when Campbell’s early goal was disallowed. At the stroke of halftime, Bolton took the lead through Gary Cahill, who put the ball into the top left corner of the net after a pass from Chris Eagles.
QPR literally fell apart in the second half after Gabbidon deflected an Eagles shot into his own goal in the 67th minute. Three minutes later, Ivan Klasnic held on to a deflected effort from Bradley Orr and drilled the ball to make it 3-0. Fabrice Mumba completed the count, with 10 minutes left in regulation time.
Bolton’s biggest asset was Gary Cahill, whose pace and timing would make him an asset to any Premiership team.
If Mancini had thought about life after Tevez before the game against Swansea, after the game he would have forgotten his worries, following a brilliant performance from his latest marquee signing Aguero. Aguero’s brace helped sweep away Swansea in a second half that saw the Premier League debutants sidelined along with QPR against Bolton.
Dzeko put Mancini’s charges ahead in the 57th minute, after Silva had done the initial work by running the ball from deep in his own half to the edge of the Swansea box. Silva sent the ball wide to Johnson, whose shot was deflected by Swansea goalkeeper Vorm, and Dzeko was on hand to put the ball into the net, reflexively.
It was then that Mancini decided to unleash Aguero, who soon latched on to a Micah Richards cross on a slide that sent the ball into the Swansea net to make it 2-0 for City. Agüero followed up with an assist that allowed Silva to score City’s third goal of the game.
A stunning 30-yard shot in stoppage time was the icing on the cake for Agüero, whose presence has sparked the collective imagination among City fans. With his defense as solid as it is, Aguero gives City’s midfield the aggressiveness it lacked for most of last season. Surely, based on the evidence against Swansea, City must be considered a serious title challenger.
Bolton will need the backing of all their local supporters to compete with a front line that could include both Aguero and Tevez, in what looks like a delightful prospect for football fans.