Wanderers set their sights on a derby double that would see Sam Allardyce's team emulate some of the most formidable sides in the club's history.

Only four times since they helped form the Football League in 1888 have Bolton supporters seen their team beat United and City in Manchester in the same season.

But Allardyce has set his players the challenge of pairing a Maine Road triumph with their glorious victory at Old Trafford on September 11 - a double that would confirm their recent upturn in form and justify their new-found confidence.

"Can we do a Manchester double - away from home - and upset the applecart?" the manager asked of his squad on the eve of the showdown with Kevin Keegan's Blues - Wanderers' last ever league fixture at the famous Moss Side ground.

"Can we put them under pressure and achieve what Charlton achieved (a 1-0 Maine Road win two weeks ago)? If we play to the level we are capable of, I think we can."

With Per Frandsen joining Mike Whitlow, Gudni Bergsson, Gareth Farrelly and Bernard Mendy on the casualty list, Bruno N'Gotty and Akin unavailable through suspension and Dean Holdsworth having been loaned out to Coventry, Wanderers have few alternatives on the selection front - other than the players who did so well against Chelsea last Saturday until they conceded the late equaliser that brought some stinging criticism from the manager.

Despite the disappointment, they go to Maine Road buoyed by a three-match unbeaten run - modest but their best of the season so far - to take on a City side that has suffered successive defeats since trouncing United 3-1 in the Manchester derby - a reaction that came as no surprise to Allardyce, who

saw his own players go eight games without a win after their Old Trafford success.

"I like derbies and I hope it's a good one," the manager said. "But not quite like that Manchester derby that spurred City to the level of performance they reached against United!

"I know Kevin will have been disappointed with the results they've had since then - certainly the Charlton defeat - but that's what happens after you've beaten Manchester United.

"I don't know why but hardly anybody wins their next game after they've beaten United and, according to our research, nobody wins their next game after they've won at Old Trafford. I suppose it's the joy of doing it!"

But Allardyce sees much more than just local pride at stake tomorrow. Despite taking five points from three games, Wanderers are still entrenched in the bottom three and require a marked improvement in results if they are to start making up ground on the likes of City.

"We're too far away from the pack at the moment," the manager admitted. "We've left ourselves stranded by giving that late goal away againstChelsea.

"It's too big a gap - even at this stage of the season. It's going to take two defeats by those teams above us and two wins by us to get past them.

"That's why we've got to keep our big players fit - players like Jay Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff and Campo. The rest have always been honest, hard-working players with the fitness and strength to cope in the Premiership but those three give us that extra bit.

"We've just got to stop conceding goals - it sounds rather obvious, I know, but when you look at Everton's record and ours you see how important that is; they've scored 17 goals and we've scored 18 but look at the difference in our positions! They've had seven 1-0 wins. If we can sort things out at the back we'll start to win more games than we lose."