BOLTON v MIDDLESBROUGH - THE NEUTRAL PREVIEW By David John of Bettingzone.co.uk It is all change again for Middlesbrough on Wednesday night as the Teessiders play an exhausting fourth game since last Thursday when they travel to Bolton in the Premiership. Boss Steve McClaren will surely not be too unhappy with the return so far - a place in the UEFA Cup final, a defeat and a battling point at Old Trafford. McClaren has continually shuffled his pack like a Las Vegas croupier to get the most out of the squad at his disposal. Expect more changes as Ugo Ehiogu, Ray Parlour and Andrew Taylor can all expect to be involved with Gareth Southgate and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (hamstring) and Mark Viduka (thigh) all nursing slight problems. He made nine changes on Monday night against Manchester United from the side which ended up with eight academy players on the pitch in Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to Everton. The latter was a game they did dominate for periods so it is credit to everyone at the club that such spirit remains at this late stage of the season - obviously spurred on by one batch of UEFA Cup heroics after another. Wednesday's match pits them against the side they beat a month ago in a 4-3 thriller at the Riverside. Bolton have won just once in seven games since, a run that has all but extinguised a return to Europe next season. Recent losses at the Reebok at the hands of top-two Chelsea and Manchester United have rather spoilt their home record. But they remain fiendishly tough to beat (just one other loss) and gaffer Sam Allardyce will demand a 100 percent return from their final two fixtures - both on their own patch. This match is certainly tough to weigh up from a betting perspective. Boro continue to defy their backlog of fixtures while the home side are not exactly finishing the season with a flourish. As two potential England management candidates do battle, we shall act just like the FA - come to no conclusion - and go for no bet. BACK TO MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX SEND THIS TO A FRIEND
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