English Premier
2009-09-26 - Portsmouth vs Everton
A Sports Betting Pick by Caged
Football: England, Premier League 2009/2010
Fratton Park
Saturday, 26th September 2009 - Kickoff 12.45
Live on Sky Sports 1/HD1
Portsmouth (20th) Home 0-0-3 2:5
Portsmouth's summer fire sale has left Pompey bereft of players that are premier league quality.
The signings that have been made, with one or two exceptions, are not top quality and this is a team that looks like it is being built for next season ... in the Championship.
Six defeats on the bounce is horrible form and a seventh defeat on Saturday would be a premier league record. Manager Paul Hart, while he may be an improvement on Tony Adams, still looks out of his depth.
To make matters worse, Portsmouth have games against the big four coming up after this game.
But, there is still some quality in the Pompey team. I have seen a lot of Dindane from his Lens days and he did look a quality player at Ligue 1 level. Jamie O'Hara and David James are class acts as well.
The win at Carlisle in the Carling Cup midweek, coming from behind, would have recovered some confidence. OK it was only Carlisle...but a win is a win.
Save for Arsenal, Portsmouth haven't been battered by anybody in their six defeats this season - and Fratton Park is always hostile for away teams.
Everton (13th) Away 0-0-2 1:3
Yakubu is a big player for Everton and his return to fitness has coincided with an upturn in goals for the toffeemen.
Everton have won their last two games 3-0 and 4-0, so they appear to be in top form, but the first win was at home to Blackburn and the second win was at Hull in the Carling Cup.
The Everton away league form still reads two defeats from two - and these defeats were at Burnley and Fulham. Not hugely impressive.
Head to head
Portsmouth won this fixture back in March 2-1, but they are 2-1-3 in this fixture in the last six years.
The Betting Verdict
A quick look at Everton's last two games and Portsmouth's form and this looks an easy away victory. There is no doubt Everton are the better team, and they have every chance of winning this game if they can maintain their performance levels.
But, I am always nervous of teams coming off the back of a big win. I dont know whether its overconfidence, complacency or something else, but teams often struggle to repeat a previous big score. Thats not to say they dont win, but anecdotal evidence is that the game is always much closer (and usually lower scoring) than expected.
In addition to this, Portsmouth cannot lose again if they want to keep their season alive. With impossible looking games coming up against top 4 sides in the next few weeks, Everton offer Pompey's best chance of getting points on the board in the near term.
To my eyes Pompey have improved in recent weeks, albeit they are still a long way from a team that can survive the season.
So I can see a scenario where Everton don't have this as easy as they might think. But similarly it is also impossible to back Portsmouth.
This could be a low scoring win for Everton or maybe even a draw. Not a game for large (or even medium) stakes then, but at the odds on offer a speculative bet on the draw is worth a try.
The Statistics :
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