Newcastle United sweat on strikers ahead of Bolton Wanderers trip

Newcastle United travel to Bolton Wanderers looking to get back to winning ways, but Chris Hughton has striking worries ahead of the trip to the Reebok Stadium.

Both of these two teams are riding higher in the Premier League than many football fans would have expected at the beginning of the season.

The two sides are coming into this game with contrasting fortunes however. Bolton are unbeaten in their last three Premier League games and are looking a revitalised side under Owen Coyle. The boss has got Bolton playing a new brand of flowing, attacking football that seems to have brought the best out of the likes of Johan Elmander and Stuart Holden.

Newcastle on the other hand have struggled since their fantastic away win at Arsenal back on November 7th. Two home games in a row have seen them lose to Blackburn and draw with Fulham. The side's away record has been better than that at St James Park but they face a tough challenge against a Bolton side that has looked hard to beat in recent weeks - and the visiting side are 11/4 to get the win on Saturday.

Joey Barton will miss the game due to his suspension, while utility player Ryan Taylor is out after he was ruled out for up to three months earlier this week with ankle ligament damage. He joins a Newcastle injury list that already includes Kazenga LuaLua, Hatem Ben Arfa and Steve Harper and Hughton has more worries ahead of the trip to the Reebok Stadium.

The boss is hoping that Andy Carroll, who shook off a niggling groin problem to make his England debut in midweek, will be fit to lead his attack, while fellow striker Shola Ameobi is struggling with a hamstring problem. Carroll has been Newcastle's main goal threat this season, with his presence able to unnerve even the best of defenders, and he is 6/1 to get the first goal of the game.

Hughton is set to make last-minute decisions about whether either or both of his forwards are fit to face Bolton, with Nile Ranger and Peter Lovenkrands on standby in case neither are deemed ready to play.

Bolton have achieved strong results at the Reebok Stadium and looked superb when beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 there a few weeks ago, and they are the favourites for the game at 6/5 to win.

Newcastle will have to play as a solid unit to cope with the powerful presence of the Trotters attack, but their chances of victory would look slim if they were forced to play without either, or both, of their first-choice strikers.