Tuesday night marks the start of the cliché-ridden ‘busy festive period’ as four sets of Premier League players put aside wrapping presents to concentrate on more important matters. The big game takes place at Ewood Park as Blackburn entertain Bolton, while Wolves host Norwich in the night’s other fixture.

Blackburn v Bolton 8pm

We start with the football equivalent of The Apprentice as either Steve Kean or Owen Coyle prepare to hear the words ‘you’re fired’ depending on how the game goes. Reports on Monday indicate that if there is a losing team on Tuesday then that club’s respective manager will get the boot.

Bolton start the game at the bottom of the league, with Blackburn one point and one place better off, and both managers are under increasing pressure to start turning their team’s season around soon. With just five wins between the two clubs, three points for either side could be the catalyst they need to start to clamber out of the drop zone. For the loser, the dreaded mantle of being bottom on Christmas Day and all the history that goes with it.

Blackburn boss Kean would argue his side haven’t been playing that badly and have been unlucky with injuries and results going against them. However, that excuse has become tiresome and Rovers fans are right to expect results. In the middle of the park Blackburn have badly struggled this season, but going forward they have been pretty free scoring. They have managed to score at least once in the last five matches, all of which have seen over 2.5 goals. That would seem to be the safest bet of the night, despite the tight nature of the game.

While Blackburn are showing signs of life Bolton have been in free fall for some time now and, if anything, are only getting worse. They were easily outplayed by Fulham on Saturday and no club in Premier League history has survived having lost as many games as the Whites have at this stage of the season.

With that in mind, it might be worth backing Kean to enjoy at least one more drink at the last chance saloon, with Blackburn to win at evens, while Coyle could well be told to sling his hook. Bolton are 11/4 to beat Rovers and the draw is 5/2.

Wolves v Norwich 7:45pm

These two clubs have proven to be two of the more entertaining teams in the Premier League this season, with Norwich’s gung-ho approach and Wolves’s never-say-die attitude defining their campaigns thus far. The Canaries have been the success story of the season so far given the amount of money they spent after being promoted and the fact they are currently ninth.

Paul Lambert’s men have taken seven points from the last four matches and Grant Holt’s strike in the 1-1 draw with Everton took the team’s goal tally to 25 in 16 matches. Norwich’s free-scoring nature could save them from the drop this season, although their ability to throw away leads could certainly hamper them if they aren’t careful. The Canaries have already thrown away 10 points from winning positions this season.

In contrast, Wolves have shown an ability to come from behind to snatch a result already this season, turning their recent clash with Sunderland on its head with two late goals. With that in mind it might be worth looking at Norwich HT/ Draw FT at odds of 12/1. A run of two wins in 14 matches has seen Wolves tumble down the table, leaving Mick McCarthy in yet another relegation scrap.

McCarthy will see this game as a must-win fixture, given that Wolves have picked up 70% of their points at Molineux. However, his team have underperformed recently and could find Norwich more than a handful. Wolves are 6/5, Norwich 9/4 and the draw, seemingly the most likely outcome, is 12/5 in the match betting.

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