27th September 2013

Yeovil Town are back in action on Saturday and it’s another long away day for fans and players.

The destination is Bolton Wanderers and the Reebok Stadium, another side recently relegated out of the Premier League.

The Lancashire side are surprising everybody this season – for all the wrong reasons – they currently prop up the Sky Bet Championship table with a grand total of 3 points from their 8 games.

Despite not registering a single win out of their fixtures so far, Bolton have gained creditable draws against Burnley, Reading and Derby, all three of which have previously been victors over Yeovil.

Dougie Freedman’s men are, much like Yeovil, in the process of evolving their squad. Both sides made additions to their squads in the run up to this game, the home side added Neil Danns from Leicester City while The Glovers have Everton youngster Shane Duffy in their ranks.

Duffy, an Irish Under 21 international joins from the Toffees on an initial one month loan deal and is expected to be part of the match day squad with other centre back options few and far between.

Byron Webster misses out once more as his 3-match ban finally comes to an end, while Bristol City loanee Liam Fontaine is unavailable due to injury.

It had been expected that Luke Ayling would be the most likely partner for Dan Seaborne in defence, but the addition of Duffy gives Gary Johnson another option.

The other big news from the Huish Park treatment room is the news that Paddy Madden could well be in line for selection, a brace in a midweek game against a Torquay XI will do his chances no harm.

However; James Hayter, Sam Hoskins and Michael Ngoo all got in on the action as the Glovers ran riot in a 7-1 against the Gulls.

Bolton aren’t without their own injury problems; former Yeovil loanee Craig Davis will be missing as he continues to struggle with an ankle problem.

Elsewhere, Wayne Hennessey will continue in goal after signing an extension to his loan deal as Marek Stech gets closer to being able to play.

Previous encounters between the sides haven’t exactly been a regular occurrence; in 2004 a Bolton side including Fernando Hierro, El Hadji Diouf and 

Les Ferdinand travelled to Somerset for a League Cup tie which the Lancashire side won 2-0.

Prior to that, Warren Patmore has given the Reebok Stadium faithful a scare when the Glovers too the lead in a 2001 FA Cup game. The giant killing wasn’t on the cards however as Bolton came back to win 2-1.

It’s a mere 250 miles from Huish Park to the Reebok, but anyone who does make the decision to travel on the day can buy tickets from the ground.

If you’d prefer to remain in the comfort of your own home, the usual services from BBC Somerset, Glovers Player and the club’s social networks will keep you informed every step of the way.

Famous Fans – Who might you meet in line for a hotdog?

Radio and TV Personality Vernon Kay, Boxer Amir Kahn, Funny man Paddy McGuinness, TV Presenter Emma Forbes and the man behind the most famous English commentary of all time, Kenneth Wolstenholme.

A foot in both camps – who have played for both sides?

Craig Davis, John McGinlay and Dick Pym who played for Bolton in the first FA Cup final at Wembley went onto play for Yeovil and Petters United.