Eng. Championship
2010-09-24 - Portsmouth vs Leicester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Caged
England : Football : The Championship
Venue : Fratton Park, Portsmouth
Friday 24th September 2010, Kickoff 19.45 BST
Live on Sky Sports 3/HD3
Portsmouth
(24th, home record W0 D2 L1 GF 1 GA3)
How often does this happen : a team play each other in the cup and then again in the league days later?
And how often does the result reverse itself, with one team winning the cup game and the other winning the away game, particularly in the lower divisions?
But to follow this pattern, Portsmouth will need to overcome their bogey side.
If you haven't been following Portsmouth's demise since their financial meltdown and relegation from the Premiership, the headline news is that things have gone from bad to worse.
Seven games into the season and Pompey are the only team in the English leagues yet to win a league game, and sit rooted to the bottom of the table with two points from a possible 21. Goal scoring has been the main problem, with new manager Steve Cotterill bemoaning his striker’s inability to convert the chances they are creating.
Add in a general lack of confidence and "acceptance" (Cotterill's words) of the opposition scoring and Portsmouth losing, and there is nothing to give you any confidence in backing the home side on Friday night.
Cotterill is a good manager but the financial problems at the club mean there is only a certain amount he can do. As the pressure mounts as they continue to search for their first win, his selections and tactics increase in desperation. The Pompey fans are restless. While Fratton Park is usually hostile for the away side, it is going to become increasingly uncomfortable for the home side too.
Cotterill does have good quality in his starting eleven. Dave Kitson, Liam Lawrence, Aaron Mokoena, Ibrahima Sonko are all decent players at this level. It was a reasonably strong side that Cotterill put out in midweek in the Carling Cup clash with Friday's visitors Leicester, and it was undone by two early goals and a 65th minute red card for Richard Hughes.
Key stat : Portsmouth are the only Championship side who have not scored in the second half of a match this season.
Leicester City
(22nd, away record W0 D1 L2 GF3 GA7)
Leicester finally got their first league win ten days ago, beating an under-strength Cardiff side at home. Apart from this, there has not been too much to shout about for new manager Paulo Sousa, whose side have lost four and drawn twice in their other games.
Leicester City have been scoring a little more freely than Portsmouth, but defensively they are pretty similar, which is unlike a Sousa side.
Sousa made eight changes to his side for the midweek Carling Cup win at Portsmouth, and the squad has stayed down on the South Coast as they prepare for Friday's match. The visitors should be relatively fresh.
Head to head
In Leicester's favour is their exemplary record against Portsmouth at Fratton Park. The Foxes have won in their last three league and cup visits to Portsmouth. Their last defeat to Pompey was in 1998, albeit the sides have only met six times since then.
The Betting Verdict
The phrase "not one for the purist" was invented for games like this. All the stats and form point to a Leicester win here, but at this level and with two struggling teams like this they will find it very difficult to beat each other on a consistent basis.
Add in the unpredictability of the division and the effect of the TV cameras which seems more pronounced in the Championship, and I'll go for the draw at the biggest price of the three outcomes.
The Pick :
Portsmouth 1 Leicester 1
BEST BETTING TIP :
The bet : Consider a punt on the Draw @ 3.25 (paddypower)Bet strength: 1/10
