Analysis: It wasn't easy, but Liverpool's term in the relegation zone has come to an end.
With the win, the Reds are all the way up to 12th in the table and are equal in points with 9th place Fulham.
In truth, Liverpool could have easily been defeated by Bolton, as the Wanderers certainly had their share of chances and possession. Liverpool really only dominated for two periods: minutes 5-15 in the first half and from the 75th minute to Maxi Rodriguez's goal in minute 86, but that was enough for them to put one in the back of the net.
Defensively, the team held a clean sheet, but Skrtel and Kyrgiakos did not have their finest games — committing many fouls compensating for being beat. All of the defenders went forward relatively well.
Joe Cole had a decent game by his recent standards, but the team definitely played better when he was replaced by Ngog. Ngog's inclusion saw Torres get the ball at his feet far more often, and also allowed Gerrard to return to a more natural midfield role. Maxi Rodriguez also became much more active when Ngog was on.
Lucas had a quiet but decent game, and Meireles was generally uninspiring but fine too.
Reina was never really tested, but the keeper did make every routine save that was asked of him, and Bolton did put quite a few on target.
Torres missed his only real scoring chance, but he atoned for it by brilliantly back-flicking to Rodriguez for the goal. In the second half, he took on a creative role in the offense and became much more involved accordingly.
Still, the team exhibited many of their normal flaws. The defensive line was conservative, Bolton held the ball in Liverpool's zone far too often, and the Reds couldn't generate many chances.
That will have to change by next Sunday, when Chelsea comes to Anfield.
Full Time: Davies flicks in a dangerous area and Rodrigo is inches from getting there before Reina, but Pepe controls it. Bolton attacks again, but Cahill's shot is deflected up high and caught easily by Reina. Bolton's attack becomes more menacing, but Muamba's shot is also easily saved by Reina. Maxi Rodriguez goes down with injury — granting Bolton a few extra seconds, but Liverpool get the whistle.
FULL TIME. Liverpool 1, Bolton 0.
90+1', 1-0 Liverpool: Reina takes his time on a goal kick as Liverpool is now in the business of time wasting. Four minutes of time to be played. Bolton doesn't look to be generating much forward in these final moments.
89', Liverpool 1-0: Blake has come on for Bolton. Liverpool's goal came as the climax of a spell in which they had been dominant. Bolton, though, has looked capable of equalizing. Poulsen comes on for Meireles.
86', Liverpool 1-0: Liverpool is now attacking forward dangerously, with Bolton content to clear — not possess. Torres backflicks to Maxi Rodriguez on the left of the box, and Maxi finishes over Jaaskelainen, though the Finn gets much of the ball.
83', 0-0: Bolton brings off Elmander for Klasnic. Cahill is roughed up challenging Torres, but it appears to be minor. Liverpool is now on the front foot, holding possession in the Bolton defensive zone. Torres is spending much more time with the ball at his feet.
80', 0-0: Liverpool win a corner of their own. Gerrard takes it well and the ball bounces around until it goes to Jaaskelainen. Bolton again come forward with Muamba, but his shot is blocked at the last moment. Torres is now limping somewhat. Liverpool has a counter, but Jaaskelainen comes way out of the area and cuts the ball for Ngog out. Rodriguez makes a nice run forward thereafter. Meireles, though, cannot cross.
77', 0-0: Long ball collected by Davies and given perfectly to Elmander in the area with time, but he can't position his body around the ball properly and his shot goes wide. Skyrtel gets a yellow for blatantly fouling Davies in the right corner. Bolton have regained momentum — the free kick is right on the back post and misses multiple free Bolton players by inches.
74', 0-0: Bolton goes forward but Gerrard wins a counter attack. He tries to pick out a long ball for Ngog, but to no avail. Elmander gets possession after a spell trading the ball in midfield, and he shoots on the ground just inches wide after Reina got a finger to it. On the corner, Knight hits it over the bar for Bolton. Chung Yong Lee goes off for Rodrigo.
71', 0-0: Davies wins a free kick at midfield for Bolton. Holden delivers it well, but Kyrgiakos heads it out for a deep throw, which the Reds clear. Bolton makes a nice passing combination which results in Holden taking a shot that is blocked by Skrtel. On the subsequent Liverpool attack, Gerrard crosses to Torres, who heads it to Maxi Rodriguez who just misses the target on a well-taken bicycle kick.
68', 0-0: Torres finds Ngog on a nice run, but Bolton is able to clear from their box. Liverpool is surely on the front foot now — particularly since Cole has gone off for Ngog. Kyrgiakos gets away with a push in the area off a Bolton free kick.
64', 0-0: The teams trade possession harmlessly for a spell before Liverpool gets the ball on the right and Meireles crosses in. Bolton concedes a corner. Torres is getting more involved. Kyrgiakos heads corner too high.
61', 0-0: Liverpool enjoy their first spell of threats in the second half. On a series of counters, Gerrard and Cole link well before Gerrard's shots are deflected off target. Cole is forced off the pitch by injury, and he is replaced by Ngog. As a result, the formation is forced to adjust.
55', 0-0: Bolton longballs the free kick with everbody forward, but it goes out for a goal kick. They eventually win a throw in the Liverpool area but turn it over on a pushing foul in the box. Bolton is now pressuring Liverpool forward.
52', 0-0: Taylor blatantly fouls Gerrard to prevent a counter and earns a yellow in so-doing. Still, nothing comes of it. Reds have a nice counter, but Torres is blocked and the ball eventually falls to Bolton. The Reds build up again after the clearance, albeit slowly. Gerrard loses possession eventually, and Skrtel fouls Davies at half field.
48', 0-0: Bolton takes the first couple of chances of the half, crossing the ball from the left dangerously into the Liverpool box. They were unable to provide a finish despite the looming balls in the danger area. The teams trade clearances thereafter, before Bolton again has a mini-chance with Davies and Muamba in space.
Half Analysis: After the opening moments of the match were polite, Liverpool went through a ten minute period of dominance — particularly up the right side of the field, but their offense waned thereafter.
Bolton looked the better team for much of the half — driving three well struck efforts on target, but right at Pepe Reina.
Both Torres and Gerrard had potential scoring chances, but Gerrard's was difficult. Torres, though, should have scored.
Liverpool have pressured Bolton when the Wanderers have held the ball in their half, but their defensive line has been pretty deep in general. Even if Liverpool has had much of the ball, it hasn't been dangerous possession outside of Torres' breakaway. Bolton looks more likely to score.
Half Time, 0-0: Skrtel is called for a foul right on the right side of the box after some clevel Elmander footwork — it wasn't a foul. Taylor hits it on net, but Reina stops. Bolton concede a free kick in their half as well after Torres is taken out by Cahill. Gerrard places the free kick beautifully for Kyrgiakos, but he's offside, and Jaaskelainen saved anyhow.
43', 0-0: Gerrard chunks a shot with tons of space right at the top of the box. He really could have scored as the ball was well matriculated up the left side. Kyrgiakos pushes Davies down in the final third on a long boot from the keeper. Taylor's shot is a bullet through the wall — but it is right at Reina, who saves.
40', 0-0: The game has come to a stalemate in which neither side is creating many chances. Bolton are possessing more of the ball — and have since minute 15' or so, but Bolton can't connect the final pass to create chances. Carragher gets away with a handball on an Elmander cross.
37', 0-0: Gerrard airmails the set piece and Bolton builds up. Their attack develops slowly, but they manage to keep possession for a matter of minutes. Reina eventually collects a high cross, but Bolton wins the 50-50 ball. Muamba shoots over the bar.
34', 0-0: Liverpool pressure forward on Bolton's possession in their own half. They force the Wanderers into a longball and then build forward. Bolton clears, but Liverpool rebuilds. Meireles almost finds Torres, but the attack goes awry. Lucas is fouled by Holden right above the box.
31', 0-0: Liverpool have a chance forward again, but Joe Cole puts a shot well off target from the top of the box. Bolton clear, but their attack comes to very little. Liverpool again look forward but turn it over — sloppy few minutes.
28', 0-0: Lee nearly wins a penalty for Bolton, but he gets up with no appeal. The game thereafter slows down — recovering from an intense swing of Bolton momentum. Liverpool, however, have looked more defensive than they did against Blackburn. Gerrard picks out an offside Torres on a forward chance.
24', 0-0: Bolton has begun to assert more of a forward presence. Holden rips a shot from distance and tests Reina well, but he's up to it. Bolton again come forward and press Liverpool's third. Liverpool is again slow on the counter.
21', 0-0: Lee takes the ball up the right on the counterattack and gets his poor pass back after Skrtel poked it away. Bolton's attack, however, is ultimately snuffed out. Reina boots long, and Bolton control. Konchesky picks up a yellow for a foul on the right, but the set piece is cleared back to Bolton's half.
18', 0-0: Davies wins a free kick at the top of Bolton's attacking third. Taylor kicks it right into the wall — not even close to being above it. Liverpool is slow on their counter and turn it over eventually.
15', 0-0: Reds try to build from the back but conservatively hold it before losing the ball. Lee wins a Bolton counter with an interception. Taylor crosses for Bolton, but Reina punches it away. Rodriguez begins a Liverpool counter but misses a nice Torres run by a few steps.
12', 0-0: Reds win a series of free kicks and a corner on the right, but nothing comes of it. Reds have asserted the front foot thus far.
6', 0-0: Liverpool have had a few nice passes thus far, but the action has been tentative by both sides thus far. Liverpool builds from the back, but passes back to Reina who boots it forward. The ball bounces around the middle before Bolton longball as well.
3', 0-0: And we're off. The action has begun in Bolton's attacking zone — not that much can be made of a few moments of action. The teams seem to be feeling each other out more than anything else. Konchesky sends a nice ball to Cole in the box, and Cole wins a corner for Gerrard. His corner comes to no avail, but Torres did get his head to it.
11:30 a.m.: Lineups for the match are now available. Glen Johnson will not feature.
Liverpool
Pepe Reina (25), goalkeeper
Martin Skrtel (37), center-left defender
Sotirios Kyrgiakos (16), center-right defender
Paul Konchesky (3), left back
Jamie Carragher (23), right back
Raul Meireles (4), center-left midfielder
Lucas (21), center-right midfielder
Steven Gerrard (8), attacking midfielder
Joe Cole (10), left wing
Maxi RodrÃguez (17), right wing
Fernando Torres (9), striker
Substitutes
Christian Poulsen (28)
David Ngog (24)
Martin Hansen (41)
Jonjo Shelvey (33)
Jay Spearing (26)
Martin Kelly (34)
Milan Jovanovic (14)
Bolton Wanderers
Jussi Jaaskelainen (22), goalkeeper
Gary Cahill (5), center-left defender
Zat Knight (12), center-right defender
Paul Robinson (4), left back
Gretar Rafn Steinsson (2), right back
Fabrice Muamba (6), center-left midfielder
Stuart Holden (8), center-right midfielder
Matthew Taylor (7), left wing
Lee Chung-Yong (27), right wing
Johan Elmander (9), forward
Kevin Davies (14), forward
Substitutes
Robbie Blake (20)
Samuel Ricketts (18)
Ivan Klasnic (17)
Tamir Cohen (21)
Adam Bogdan (1)
Mark Davies (16)
Rodrigo (19)
7.a.m.: It's not very often that Bolton Wanderers plays host to Liverpool eight places above them in the table.
This, however, is not a typical Premier League season, and this is not a typical Bolton bottom-feeder team. With star forward Johan Elmander, American international Stuart Holden, and Korean star Lee Chung-Yong leading the Wanderers, they have been one of the league's surprise teams thus far, having lost just once thus far.
With a win, Bolton could rise as seventh in the table, but the effects could be even more significant for Liverpool. If they are victorious, they could find themselves in 13th — a five spot rise from their current position.
The Reds will again be without Dirk Kuyt and Daniel Agger. Glen Johnson will face a fitness test prior to the action.
Bolton striker Ivan Klasnic will be available for action despite impending legal issues.
Kickoff is at 12p ET.
