- Odds: Southampton are 1.46 favorites to beat Bolton in Saturday's Championship fixture at St. Mary's Stadium.
- Market: The draw is 4.6 and the Trotters are 5.83 to win.
Saints are on a roll on home turf
Home form and odds
Southampton are the clear favorites at 1.46 to beat Bolton at St. Mary's Stadium on Saturday and there is a good reason why they have been priced that way by the oddsmakers.
The Saints are 16th in the Championship table with ten points from eight games, but they have picked up a couple of wins and some good results recently.
Southampton have two wins, two draws and one defeat in their last five and their home form is the real reason to fancy them in this fixture. Tonda Eckert's men are unbeaten in four at home with four wins from four and come into this one after back-to-back victories over Swansea City (3-1) and Bristol City (4-1).
Style and threats
The home team's style is to be compact and to hit on the counter, but Eckert has been clever with Southampton's shape and they can be very dangerous on the break. Bolton will test them
Steven Schumacher also has a tidy 4-2-3-1 side that is well drilled and disciplined with the ability to score a goal or two when they've built up a block.
The Trotters have been hard to read this season, but they have had some real bite in recent weeks beating Cardiff City 1-0 and Norwich City 4-3 before tasting defeat at Stoke City last time out (2-1).
That's why the Bolton side may be able to make the game tricky on Saturday, but the home form of Southampton has to be respected here. So we will take the odds-on favorites to win and both teams to score, although a single home goal should be enough for the winners at the final whistle.
- Cyle Larin, the Canadian striker, is their primary threat with seven goals in eight Championship games for Southampton, three of which have come in their last 5 games – when the forward has scored 3 of his team's last 10.
- Sam Dalby has three Championship goals in 8 games for the Bolton boss, who provides a focal point up top when the 4-2-3-1 is compressed and his team can counter effectively.
- Bolton's away record is one win, one draw and two defeats, but they can nick goals on the road with 1.50 scored per game on average in the Championship.
