Okocha leads Bolton in Carling semi-final

Bolton v Aston Villa

Jay-Jay Okocha captained the Bolton side for the last time for about a month tonight in the Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Aston Villa.

The Nigerian playmaker is heading off to the African Nations Cup later this week and his decision to delay his departure was a major boost for the team going into this Reebok clash.

Manager Sam Allardyce made one change to the side that defeated Portsmouth with Stelios Giannakopoulos replacing Javi Moreno.

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Aston Villa welcomed back midfielder Gavin McCann and striker Darius Vassell after knee and hamstring injuries respectively.

Bolton: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, N'Gotty, Thome, Barness, Campo, Giannakopoulos, Djorkaeff, Okocha, Nolan, Davies. Subs: Poole, Charlton, Pedersen, Ba, Javi Moreno.

Aston Villa: Sorensen, Delaney, Mellberg, Dublin, Samuel, Hendrie, McCann, Whittingham, Barry, Angel, Vassell. Subs: Hitzlsperger, Postma, Allback, De la Cruz, Johnsen.