Match Preview: Portsmouth v Aston Villa
By: Chris | January 26th, 2009Portsmouth v Aston Villa
Premier League
Fratton Park
Tuesday 27th January 2009, 8.00pm
Pic: Sky Sports
After a draw at the Keepmoat, Villa visit Fratton Park to face another team upset in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Premier League Form Guide
Aston Villa: WWDWWW
Villa are picking up wins for fun at the moment, without playing particularly well. Five wins form six is not to be sniffed at, especially when the draw was against Arsenal and we deserved more. Five away wins on the spin demonstrates our strength on the counter attack, but Ashley Young has been key and misses the second game of his suspension. Doncaster ruined our away record on Saturday by holding us to a goalless draw.
Portsmouth: DLLLLD
Portsmouth’s form of late has been pretty poor. Draws with West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur have been split by losses to Newcastle United, Bolton Wanderers, West Ham United and Arsenal. They successfully negotiated an FA Cup replay against Bristol City, but were knocked out by Swansea City in the next round.
Team News
With John Carew out for Villa, Emile Heskey will start his first game since signing from Wigan Athletic. Luke Young will be drafted back in at left back following suspension. Nigel Reo-Coker picked up a knock on Saturday, but I’ve not heard any update. Martin Laursen is out, and Freddie Bouma isn’t quite ready for a return.
Hayden Mullins and Pele, signed by Portsmouth today, could be in contention for a start. Richard Hughes misses out and Nico Krancjar could be unfit thanks to a groin injury.
Why Portsmouth away is a must-win
This is another chance to improve on a poor performance and result from last season. It’s about time we won some points off Portsmouth. I also have a residual distaste for them from Harry Redknapp’s time at the club. I also have a soft spot for Southampton. I think you can see where this is going.
It’s always important to keep a good run going, so a win is vital tomorrow night.
Betting
| Outlet | Home Win | Draw | Away Win |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bet365 | 11/5 | 23/10 | 13/10 |
| SkyBet | 9/4 | 12/5 | 6/5 |
| Paddy Power | 21/10 | 12/5 | 5/4 |
This could be the one where it all comes unstuck after a successful run of away games. 2-0 Portsmouth.
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Category: Match Previews
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Comments
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hey chris does it seem to you that the johnson/sturridge coming to villa from man city thing will/can actually happen? surely mark hughes isnt that dumb? is martin oneill a witch? the number i saw was 10mil for the pair.
Posted from
United States
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Hi Matt. I was thinking about that this morning.
I could see Sturridge joining. With Bellamy joining City his chances there will be limited, and if we sell Harewood we’ll need to bring someone in.
Johnson seems unlikely as we’re quite busy in midfield. But he’s a great player and if he’s willing to join as part of a deal for Sturridge we might just pull it off.
Posted from
United Kingdom -
i hope you get them both. mon can develop the ever living crap out of guys like that…talk about strength in depth if he could bring them along like he’s done with the guys you currently have. congrats on the win today btw. stay in the top 4!
Posted from
United States
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