Stoke's home form has been patchy of late, but the Potters can still boast five wins and two draws from 11 games at the Britannia, with the last league game being a 2-0 victory over Everton.
Bolton, sitting high in seventh despite their injury woes, have notched up just two wins from their 10 trips on the road, but beat Stoke away last season courtesy of two Matthew Taylor strikes.
A win for Stoke could see them fly back into the top half of the table, while a win for the Trotters would take them ahead of Sunderland into sixth spot.
Culture Clash
Just three points separates these two sides, yet there is a wide contrast in how both managers go about setting their teams up on the pitch.
Pulis and Coyle will be among the first to declare that results matter above all else, but the latter's sides routinely play a style of football that earns plaudits as well as points.
Retaining possession and carving out chances on the deck are the method of choice for Bolton, while Stoke often opt for a more direct aerial route, sometimes bypassing the midfield with the heads of Ricardo Fuller and Kenwyne Jones being the target.
That isn't to say that the Potters lack class, and in Matthew Etherington, Jermaine Pennant and Fuller, Stoke are capable of playing the sort of football that will have purists purring.
But you will never hear Pulis echoing the words of Coyle on Thursday afternoon, when he said: "Ultimately I want the ball to move along the grass and be pleasing on the eye for the supporters.
"They work hard all week and pay a lot of good money to watch Barclays Premier League football."
TEAM NEWS
Stoke
After a disappointing – if entertaining – cup draw with Cardiff last weekend, manager Tony Pulis will likely name all the usual Premier League suspects for the visit of the Trotters, with Matthew Etherington returning to the starting line-up after having to make do with a cameo role against Championship opponents.
Expect that to mean another spot on the bench for Tuncay, despite the Turk's goalscoring FA Cup exploits. The former club record signing has never fully convinced Pulis of his worth, with a string of steady workers and this season's regular duo of Ricardo Fuller and Kenwyne Jones given a chance ahead of the man signed from Middlesborough.
Possible starting XI: Begovic; Wilkinson, Huth, Shawcross, Collins; Pennant, Whitehead, Delap, Etherington; Fuller, Jones.
Bolton
Owen Coyle will be without striker Ivan Klasnic, who limped off during the FA Cup tie with York after suffering a groin injury.
Midfielder Stuart Holden and right-back Gretar Steinsson will both face late fitness checks to determine their ability to play, but Bolton are still shorn of several players, which has meant that Coyle has been unable to name seven substitutes for recent fixtures.
Possible starting XI: Jaaskelainen; Robinson, Cahill, Knight, Taylor; M Davies, Muamba, Holden; K Davies, Elmander, Moreno.
Prediction
With Bolton suffering with a sheer volume of injuries, there will be fewer places they'll want to visit less than Stoke, who will be fired up after a disappointing cup draw. That 1-1 draw fits into a sequence of wibbly-wobbly home results, but the Potters should have enough in their locker to snatch all three points.
Stoke 2-1 Bolton 
