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After overcoming Atletico Madrid in the last round, Bolton hosts Sporting Lisbon in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup. The Portuguese giants travel to the Reebok for the first leg and have admitted to being cautious ahead of the tie after seeing the Trotters shock Europe in the last 32. Gary Megson will be hoping his side will be inspired by another capacity crowd to take an advantage into the second leg and potentially into the quarter-finals for the first time. But he may have selection problems, with El-Hadji Diouf suspended following his two bookings in the last round, while Kevin Nolan is doubtful for the first leg with a back injury. Danny Guthrie may come back into contention after being ineligible for the Premier League defeat to Liverpool, while Gavin McCann may also be pushing for a start. January signings Gretar Steinsson and Tamir Cohen are cup-tied, while on-loan forward Grzegorz Rasiak is ineligible for the UEFA Cup. Kevin Davies is expected to spearhead the Wanderers attack with support possibly coming from Stelios Giannakopoulos. Heidar Helguson may be on the bench after missing the last month with a back problem. Ricardo Vaz Te, who expressed an interest in playing for Sporting earlier this season, may also be on the bench after injury has kept him out since the opening day of the season. Sporting reached the last 16 after a comfortable 5-0 aggregate over Basel in the last round and will be hoping to record a similar scoreline in this round against their English counterparts. They currently lie 4th in the Portuguese League, with a disappointing away record preventing them mounting a challenge for the title, with Porto sitting 12 points clear at the top. Unlike Bolton, Sporting manager Paulo Bento doesn't have many selection problems, with Brazilian striker Liedson the only man definitely out of the tie at the Reebok. Club captain Joao Moutinho is expected to be fit after picking up a slight knee injury in the weekend's 1-1 draw with city fierce rivals Benfica. Should he play, he is likely to be the biggest attacking threat on offer. Squads: Bolton Wanderers: from: Jaaskelainen, Al-Habsi, Walker, Hunt, Samuel, Meite, Gardner, A O'Brien, Cahill, Nolan, Stelios, Campo, Andranik, Guthrie, Alonso, McCann, Taylor, Helguson, Davies, Diouf, Braaten, Harsanyi Sporting Lisbon: from: Tiago, Stojkovic, Golas, Silva, Had, Polga, Ronny, Tonel, Grimi, Gladstone, Abel, Izmailov, Purovic, Vukcevic, Farnerud, Veloso, Pereirinha, Moutinho, Romagnoli, Celsinho, Derlei, Djalo, Tiui, Liedson, Paez Squads courtesy of uefa.com Referee: Alon Yefet (Israel) Burnden Aces prediction: 2-1 |
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