Portsmouth V Hull City
Football : England : Premier League
Saturday 20th March – Kickoff 3pm

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Relegation 6 pointer here, although for Portsmouth, that ship has now sailed.

Portsmouth

Poor Pompey finally took that 9 point kick in the proverbials and now have a grand total of 10 points and will surely be relegated. It’s a sad thing, but the team still have a trip to Wembley to look forward to in the FA Cup semi-finals, so morale won’t be completely missing.

At the end of the day, all the players can do is go out and give it their all to win games. They have no control over off-pitch problems, and Avram Grant has clearly got this into his players heads. The team have been working their socks off every time they step on the pitch and it is just what the wonderful fans deserve.

But what really is the motivation for playing hard here? With the FA Cup semi against either Fulham or Tottenham looming, would the players want to risk an injury here? With every player up for sale, an injury would make transfers more difficult too, so that’s now 2 good reasons to not go and get injured. But, that pride to go out and make the most for the fans remains.

Also, with almost all players being offered to other clubs, surely the players will want to put in stellar individual performances to attract other clubs? On loan striker Piquionne, who is in fine form scoring 4 in the last 5, would be one to look out for as he tries to secure his future in England past Portsmouth.

Hull City

The Tigers are now down deep in the relegation zone, lying 19th with a paltry 24 points. They also lost their manager following the loss to Arsenal and will now have Ian Dowie take over for his first game.

With a new manager, no player is guaranteed a starting place in their fight for survival. They will have to go out and fight to impress the new gaffer, and do it while attempting to score an away victory, something they haven’t managed yet this season! This is surely the best chance they’re going to have of finally getting that elusive away win, as Portsmouth haven’t won a home league fixture since about mid-December.

Fortunately, the team is relatively injury free, and must take some heart in the fact that they only lost to Arsenal by a single late goal. Losing this game is not an option if they want to be singing again on the final day, and perhaps Bullard can add to his tally here?

The Betting Verdict :

I wouldn’t watch this fixture if it was the only game on, and I really wouldn’t fancy sticking money on either team, with all three possible outcomes looking equally likely.

So, since we’re dealing with the bottom two sides, in rubbish form, the choice makes itself…

The Statistics :

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Both teams to score @ 1.80 (Bet365) – Main Bet

Considering the motivational circumstances, there may be value in taking Hull City to win @ 3.50 (Bet365)