Portsmouth have an almighty task ahead of them as they prepare to face Premier League leaders Arsenal at Fratton Park in the third round of the FA Cup at Saturday lunchtime. Pompey are lurking just outside the relegation zone in the Championship, so will be huge underdogs here.
They will have had much more time to prepare for this game than Arsenal, having last played on New Year's Day, but that was a heavy 5-0 defeat at Bristol City. The Gunners played as recently as Thursday night, where they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to the reigning Premier League champions Liverpool.
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Portsmouth vs Arsenal prediction: Gunners to get back on track?
Key stats
- Portsmouth have lost the last five H2Hs in all competitions.
- Arsenal have won their previous three away matches across all competitions.
- Arsenal won 2-0 the last time these two teams met in the FA Cup in 2020, and they went on to lift the trophy.
Correct score prediction: Portsmouth 0-3 Arsenal
Arsenal should be heavy favourites to win this one against opposition a division below them, and it may just be a matter of how big the margin may be. The Gunners are so strong defensively as well, so we are also backing them to keep a clean sheet.
Pre-game odds and win probability: Arsenal almighty favourites with bookmakers
- HOME: 10/1 (11.00) – 9.1%
- DRAW: 11/2 (6.50) – 15.4%
- AWAY: 2/9 (1.22) – 81.8%
*odds from Ladbrokes, subject to change
As shown by the implied probabilities, Arsenal are expectedly the big favourites with bookmakers to claim victory and therefore progress into the next round of the competition. Both a draw and a Portsmouth win are deemed highly unlikely at under 16% each.
Also, feel free to check out our dedicated Today’s betting tips page for more of our expert FA Cup predictions.
Most recent H2Hs: Arsenal on top
As mentioned before, Arsenal have won the previous five meetings between the two sides across all competitions. That includes the last H2H, interestingly also in the FA Cup in 2020.
Portsmouth preview: Plenty of injuries
Unfortunately for Portsmouth, they have a lot of injuries in their first-team squad heading into this clash. Callum Lang, Colby Bishop, Connor Ogilvie, Florian Bianchini, Josh Knight, Josh Murphy, Mark Kosznovszky, Marlon Pack and Thomas Waddingham are all expected to miss out.
Predicted lineup: Schmid (GK); Poole, Shaughnessy, Bowat; Devlin, Le Roux, Dozzell, Swanson; Swift, Kirk & Segecic
Last five results:
- Bristol City 5-0 Portsmouth
- Portsmouth 2-1 Charlton
- Portsmouth 1-1 QPR
- Derby 1-1 Portsmouth
- Portsmouth 2-1 Blackburn
Arsenal preview: Hincapie now doubtful
Piero Hincapie is now an injury doubt after limping off against Liverpool. He could join Riccardo Calafiori, Cristian Mosquera and Max Dowman on the injury list.
Predicted lineup: Kepa (GK); White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Eze, Merino; Madueke, Jesus & Martinelli
Last five results:
- Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool
- Bournemouth 2-3 Arsenal
- Arsenal 4-1 Aston Villa
- Arsenal 2-1 Brighton
- Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace
Player to watch: Gabriel Martinelli
Eyes will be on Gabriel Martinelli should he start for Arsenal. The Brazilian was involved in an unfortunate incident with Conor Bradley against Liverpool, and he will want to put it behind him as soon as possible.