Eng. Championship
2012-04-07 - Southampton vs Portsmouth
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Championship
Saturday 7 April 2012 - Kick Off 1pm
Southampton
Southampton lost their lead in the Championship on Good Friday after Reading beat Leeds United 2-0 at the Majedski Stadium, and now they are under pressure ahead of the South Coast Derby with West Ham also breathing down their necks. With just 6 games left this season, the Saints cannot take their foot off the pedal at this late stage.
They have been part of the top 2 automatic promotion positions for much of the season and are still 2nd in the Championship although just 3 points ahead of West Ham with this game to play. A win here would see the Saints move back to the top of the table, and they will feel confident of doing that at St Mary's where they are 15-3-2, scoring 42 goals and conceding 13.
The team had a sobering 3-0 loss at Blackpool last week, which ended a 10 match unbeaten run where they had won 8 of those games. Southampton have won 4 of their last 5 home games in the League and they have conceded just 1 goal in those games.
Rickie Lambert could return to the line up this week, but Frazer Richardson is going to need a late fitness test.
Portsmouth
The ten point penalty for Portsmouth sent them hurtling into the relegation zone, but they have shown some fight in recent weeks which suggests a miracle escape may be possible. However, a thumping 1-5 loss to Burnley at Fratton Park last week means confidence cannot be high as they visit their local rivals.
Portsmouth are 23rd in the Championship, and they find themselves 5 points from safety with just 6 games left to play. They have really struggled away from the comforts of home, going 2-5-13 this season, scoring 14 goals and conceding 28. Only Coventry City and Doncaster Rovers have lost more away games this season.
The team have won 2 of their last 4 games, but the 1-5 loss to Burnley was more than disappointing. Pompey have been better at home, but on their travels it has been a different story as they have lost 5 of their last 6 games in the Championship. They have only scored 1 away goal in those 6 games and they have failed to score in the last 4 games while failing to score in those games.
George Thorne is out for the rest of the season and he will be joined by Kanu and Aaron Mokoena.
Head to Head
These two sides drew 1-1 at Fratton Park earlier this season as the home side scored a goal in the final ten minutes to rescue a point.
They last met here in the 2009/10 FA Cup, with Portsmouth winning the game 1-4, although the sides were separated by a couple of Divisions back then.
Southampton had won their previous 5 home games against their bitter rivals before that loss.
Prediction
Southampton are rightly the big favourites to win this game, although they are under a bit of pressure having lost the lead in the Championship and also having West Ham closing the gap in the chase for automatic promotion.
The fact that this is a derby only makes it that much tougher for the home side, although they are playing a Portsmouth side that have really had a hard time on their travels recently.
I expect Southampton will be far too strong for Portsmouth in the current state of the two clubs, but the odds are understandably short.
However, I think there is one pick that the statistics are pointing to and that is Southampton to win this game to nil. They have only conceded 1 goal in their last 5 games at home, while Portsmouth have only scored 1 goal in 6 away games and the 2.40 on offer for the home side to win with a clean sheet looks a little too good to ignore.
The Pick :
Southampton 2-0 Portsmouth
