Reds will repair wounds with goals
Betting tips 
/ Mike Norman / 14 January 2012 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
...if you are the type of backer prepared to get involved with long odds-on shots, I have seen worse prices that the [1.18] available to back United.
Gareth Purnell envisages a glut of goals when Manchester United host out-of-form Bolton.
Match Odds: Man Utd [1.18], Bolton [21.0], The Draw [9.4]
When you have the joint worst defence in the Premier League, as Bolton do, a trip to Old Trafford against a wounded Manchester United side is probably not what the doctor ordered. Bolton are shipping goals at the kind of rate that is likely to send them down into the Championship if they don't address the issue. They have conceded 43 goals in 20 games, a feat matched only by rock-bottom Blackburn.
If they can do something about their porous backline they do have every chance to avoid the dreaded drop though, because they know how to find the net themselves and indeed have scored more than Everton, Swansea, Stoke, Aston Villa, Fulham, West Bromwich Albion, Wolves, QPR, Wigan and even Liverpool... with their games averaging nearly three and a half goals. However, their defensive rot is unlikely to stop on Saturday when they face the Premier League's second most potent attack.
I've made no secret of my belief that Manchester United are not the real deal this season. They have their own problems at the back, and this has been greatly exacerbated by Nemanja Vidic being out for the whole season.
The news that Rio Ferdinand may be out of this game with a stomach bug points to another makeshift defence, and we know what happened in similar circumstances at the back against Blackburn when they looked all over the place, conceded three times at home and lost 2-3.
Indeed at Old Trafford they have shipped 14 goals in 10 games, which is more than the likes of Aston Villa, Everton, West Brom, Stoke and Sunderland have let in at home.
There is no doubting the quality they possess going forward, however, with players like Nani, Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Dimitar Berbatov, Ryan Giggs, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez, and of course their talisman Wayne Rooney, who looked right back to his best in their victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup (by the way, what a header that was!).
At home the Red Devils have been prolific going forward and have scored 30 goals in 10 games, making for an average of 4.4 goals in each of their home league fixtures. And with trips to Arsenal and Liverpool awaiting them after this United have no choice but to win this.
Indeed, if you are the type of backer prepared to get involved with long odds-on shots, I have seen worse prices that the [1.18] available to back United in the 2-2 FA Cup draw with Macclesfield and will have key men back for this, but note that only one of Bolton's away games has finished under the 2.5 goals line this season. When they have come up against quality, Bolton have been soundly beaten -- indeed in six Premier League games against the current top-six they have conceded 22 times.
