By Mark Heys
November 26 2005

Bolton Wanderers will be hoping to break a thirteen year curse this weekend as they take on mid-table Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon.

The Wanderers last win down at the Cottage came in November 1992 when both clubs where in the old Barclays Division Two and the prospect of Premiership Football seemed like light years away.

Over a decade of football has passed since David Lee, Alan Stubbs and an Andy Walker brace sent Fulham packing but Sam Allardyce will be keen to see his side copy the team of days gone by on Sunday.

Preparation has been good in the Bolton camp as their "never say die" attitude came through great guns last night when they grabbed a point in the UEFA Cup Group H game against Vitoria Guimaraes.

Fulham will be keen to take advantage of the extra rest in the hope that they can inflict more misery on a Bolton outfit which is currently one of the Premiership's form sides.

Striker Kevin Davies looks likely to return to the Wanderers fold after missing the draw in Portugal due to a persistant rib injury so the experienced Jared Borgetti will make the drop down to the substitutes bench.

Nicky Hunt and Ivan Campo are both back in contention following lengthy spells on the sidelines giving Trotters manager Sam Allardyce a welcome selection headache for the first time in months.

Former Fulham duo Fabrice Fernandes and Martin Djetou can only hope for substitutes roles at best as Allardyce looks to avoid making too many wholesale changes going into a busy part of the season.

Cottagers manager Chris Coleman is expected to welcome back Luis Boa-Morte after the former Arsenal and Southampton winger served a recent suspension. Defenders Philippe Christanval and Carlos Bocanegra also look to be involved in the managers starting line up after recovering from injury.

Former Wanderers midfielder Claus Jensen may miss out against his old club as he is still recovering from a recent groin problem.

Last season two Andy Cole goals did the damage as Fulham recorded their fourth straight home victory against a Bolton side who handed Spanish legend Fernando Hierro his debut in English Football.

A year earlier the South American striker Facundo Sava, aka the man with the Zorro mask, scored fifteen minutes from the end in the Cottagers temporary Loftus Road home just as the game looked to be heading for a draw.

Sunday's game will begin with a minutes silence for the former Manchester United, Fulham and Northern Ireland footballer George Best who passed away aged 59 on Friday lunchtime.

PREMIERSHIP RECORD

24/11/2001 BOLTON WANDERERS 0 FULHAM 0

23/04/2002 FULHAM 3 (Goldbaek, Marlet, Hayles) BOLTON WANDERERS 0

17/08/2002 FULHAM 4 (Saha, Legwinski 2, Marlet) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Ricketts)

11/01/2003 BOLTON WANDERERS 0 FULHAM 0

06/12/2003 FULHAM 2 (Davis, Sava) BOLTON WANDERERS 1 (Davies)

15/05/2004 BOLTON WANDERERS 0 FULHAM 2 (McBride 2)

21/08/2004 FULHAM 2 (Cole 2) BOLTON WANDERERS 0

09/04/2005 BOLTON WANDERERS 3 (Okocha, Nolan, Giannakopoulos) FULHAM 1 (Boa-Morte)

PREMIERSHIP FORM GUIDE:

Played: 8

Won: 1

Drawn: 2

Lost: 5

CONNECTIONS

Peter Beardsley, Dave Clement, Martin Djetou, John Dreyer, Fabrice Fernandes, Claus Jensen, Steve McAnespie, Gerry Peyton, Martin Pike, John Salako, Mark Walton.

IT HAPPENED WHEN BOLTON PLAYED FULHAM

Ex-Wanderer Claus Jensen was sent off the last time these two sides met in April 2005. The Danish international handled a goalbound shot and was immediately dismissed by the referee Dermot Gallagher

That same game saw Bolton record their first victory against Fulham in any competition since March 2000.

Martin Djetou, now of Bolton, made his last Fulham appearance against the Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium in May 2004.