Sunderland v Bolton preview

Published Dec. 17, 2010 7:16 a.m. ET

foxsports

Anton Ferdinand has failed in his bid to be fit for Sunderland, meaning Steve Bruce will be without three centre-backs. Titus Bramble and Michael Turner are out until the New Year, and it looked like the Black Cats' injury curse had struck again when Ferdinand pulled up in last week's 0-0 draw at Fulham with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Further examination revealed the 25-year-old's problem may instead have been caused by a back spasm and Bruce had hoped he would be able to play on Saturday but he has now been ruled out. Goalkeeper Craig Gordon will return after missing last week with a hamstring problem while Asamoah Gyan (toe) is also fit, but Boudewijn Zenden (concussion) is a doubt and Fraizer Campbell (knee) remains a long-term absentee. Bolton will be without Mark Davies for the clash with the Black Cats. Davies is suspended following his sending-off in the 2-1 victory over Blackburn on Sunday and Fabrice Muamba is expected to return to the Wanderers starting line-up in his place. Otherwise, manager Owen Coyle should have the same squad to choose from as he did for the game against Rovers. Sunderland (from): Gordon, Mignolet, Onuoha, Bardsley, Richardson, Angeleri, Mensah, Da Silva, Cattermole, Riveros, Henderson, Malbranque, Elmohamady, Zenden, Bent, Gyan, Welbeck, Meyler, Adams. Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Bogdan, Cahill, Steinsson, Knight, Robinson, Lee, Holden, Muamba, Petrov, Cohen, K Davies, Elmander, Blake, Taylor, Klasnic, Ricketts, Alonso, Moreno.