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Perhaps the biggest tie of the Carabao Cup first round sees West Ham United welcome Portsmouth to the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
This is West Ham's first competitive game since being relegated from the Premier League, and they will be aiming to get off to the best possible start in the new season.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth will be competing with them in the Championship, and will be hoping to cause an upset here.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
West Ham United vs. Portsmouth key stats
- West Ham are unbeaten in pre-season (W1, D3).
- Portsmouth have won just once in six pre-season friendlies (D3, L2).
- West Ham are unbeaten in the previous six H2Hs (W4, D2).
West Ham United vs. Portsmouth preview: Hammers to reach round two?
West Ham vs Portsmouth — Tale of the Tape
| West Ham | vs | Portsmouth |
|---|---|---|
| 18th (Premier League) | Position | 18th (Championship) |
| 39 | Points | 55 |
| 46 | Goals For | 49 |
| 65 | Goals Against | 64 |
| 7 | Clean Sheets | 10 |
| 15th | Home / Away Rank | 16th |
After signs that West Ham could survive, they were sent down from the Premier League on its final day, with London rivals Tottenham the survivors instead.
Key board members have since left the club, with the move to the London Stadium not intended to play Championship football in.
Still, this is where the Hammers are, and Nuno Espirito Santo will be determined for the club to bounce back to the Premier League straight away, while a good cup run would also ease pressure from fans inside the stadium.
Keiber Lamadrid has signed permanently and captain Jarrod Bowen is staying in a major boost for West Ham, but key players Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville have left for big money, so it will be interesting to see how strong of an XI they field here.
As for Portsmouth, they have been much more active in the transfer market so far, signing Odin Bailey, Eoin Kenny, Luke Brooke-Smith, Daniel Bielica, Rocco Shein and Marko Milovanovic.
John Mousinho's side finished in a healthy 18th position in the Championship last season, and will be looking to kick on in the new campaign.
However, they are suffering a bit of an injury crisis currently, with Harvey Blair and Josh Murphy concerns while captain Marlon Pack, Connor Ogilvie, Mark Kosznovszky and Jacob Farrell are all longer-term absentees.
Nonetheless, Pompey are underdogs here, but given the fragility around West Ham at the moment, they will be hoping to cause an upset.
West Ham United vs. Portsmouth form guide & betting tips
| West Ham | vs | Portsmouth |
|---|---|---|
WDWDD |
Form | LDLDD |
| 10 | Goals For | 3 |
| 2 | Goals Against | 7 |
N/A |
Carabao Cup | N/A |
Whispers predicts: West Ham United 2-0 Portsmouth
West Ham are 8/15 (1.53) favourites to win, but while we side with the bookies, we would like to explore more ambitious bets.
Our first pick is BTTS – No at 5/4 (2.25), given the Hammers have only conceded twice in four pre-season friendlies, while Portsmouth have only scored five goals in six friendlies.
With Bowen committing his future to West Ham and determined to fire them back up to the Premier League, he is an attractive bet to net here, so Bowen to score anytime at 13/10 (2.30) is our next pick.
Our final bet is Under 2.5 goals at 6/4 (2.50), having come through in seven of both teams' 10 pre-season friendlies combined.
Overall, we are predicting a 2-0 West Ham victory, which can be backed at 8/1 (9.00).
> BTTS – No at 5/4 (2.25) | Likelihood: Possible
> Bowen to score anytime at 13/10 (2.30) | Likelihood: Possible
> Under 2.5 goals at 6/4 (2.50) | Likelihood: Possible