Portsmouth vs Arsenal Prediction: No FA Cup Magic at Fratton Park on Sunday

The 5/1 third favourites for the FA Cup, Arsenal, make the trip from London down to the South Coast on Sunday afternoon to start their campaign to lift the trophy for the 15th time. They face the two-time winners Portsmouth in a live game on TNT Sports. Kick-off is set for 14:00.

With a Pompey mush on staff, we thought he’d be the perfect man to write the preview to see if there was any hope of an upset. Let's check out his Portsmouth vs Arsenal Predictions...

Team News:

Portsmouth didn’t play at the weekend due to a frozen pitch down at Fratton Park. Considering the injury-crisis currently affecting the Championship strugglers, there weren’t many Pompey fans crying at the fact the game was called off.

Not many (if any) of those who wouldn’t have been available last week are set to make it for this one. Colby Bishop is one who is considered a possibility. The striker - who has only scored once all season - could lead the line and club captain Marlon Pack has a chance to play in Sunday’s marquee matchup.

Mark Kosznovszky had started to really find his feet following a £1million move in the summer but he’s now out for 9-12 months having torn both his ACL and MCL. Josh Murphy and Callum Lang will both miss the rest of the month, with Hayden Matthews and Josh Knight also unavailable. It could be a case of the fittest first team players taking to the pitch come Sunday.

Arsenal have just the one new injury concern following their 0-0 draw against Liverpool on Thursday evening. Piero Hincapie limped off but as of the time of writing, there is no indication just how serious the injury is.

Considering the visitors will be red-hot favourites and the hosts are in terrible form, this is a great opportunity for fringe players to get a run out and potentially, give the misfiring Viktor Gyokeres a chance to get some confidence. The likes of Christian Norgaard and Ethan Nwaneri will surely be given starting places.

*You can check out all the Football Odds and markets on offer with us over at betfred.com

Match Odds:

I don’t think it’ll be a shock to anyone when I say that Arsenal are extremely short to win the game. The Gunners are just 1/5 to secure their spot without the need for Extra Time. This equates to a 83% chance. As someone who watched Portsmouth’s 5-0 defeat at Bristol City last time out and thought the result flattered his team - 1/5 is generous.

If you believe in the magic of the FA Cup and a shock could be on the cards, the 2008 winners are 12/1 to win the game in normal time. This is regarded as an 8% shot, with the Draw coming in at 11/2, a 15% possibility.

Both Teams to Score is a 50-50 shot at 1/1, with Over 2.5 Goals priced up at 1/2. The most interesting line might be the -2 Handicap, where Pompey are 23/20 to win, Arsenal 8/5 and the Tie 11/4.

Only Viktor Gyokeres (5/6) is odds-on to find the back of the net anytime. There are 14 Arsenal players listed in this market before a Pompey one. If you want a big-priced Pompey scorer, then take Conor Shaughnessy at 18/1. The central defender has a penchant for big goals in front of the Fratton End.

*For all of our Portsmouth vs Arsenal Odds and Betting Markets, head over to betfred.com.

Bet 1 - Marlon Park to be carded @ 2/1

I’m obviously going to take a Pompey slant at things when it comes to the betting angles, as they are the team I know best. Pompey skipper Pack has already seen yellow five times this term despite only starting nine games.

The combative midfielder is a doubt but if he starts, he’ll be anchoring the midfield with probably Andre Dozzell. He’s known to be a player who’ll happily make the professional foul to stop the fast break. With Arsenal potentially having several of them on Sunday afternoon, I like his chances to have his name taken.

Select Group referee Tony Harrington will be the man in charge and he’s averaged just three bookings a game, which is fairly low but I still think 2/1 is a decent price for this one to come in.

Bet 2 - Arsenal Over 7.5 Corners @ 6/4

The Gunners have only been awarded eight or more corners seven times in the Premier League this season and six of those occasions came in their first eight matches. On Sunday afternoon though, surely they’ll just be camped in the Pompey half enjoying wave after wave of attack.

The hosts will have to endure the visitors having large spells of possession. It just feels like the type of game where Arsenal will force lots of last-ditch blocks and tackles, resulting in corner after corner being taken.

Bet 3 - Arsenal Penalty Scored @ 10/3

I’m really not expecting my lot to have a good afternoon. I think the incessant pressure will tell and one of Arsenal’s tricky and speedy players will get clipped in the box or maybe we foul from a corner.

This isn’t one where you point at the stats for a reason, just a gut feel. With my expectations that it’ll be one-way traffic for most of the match, tired minds and legs could well add misery from 12 yards from Pompey fans.

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You can check out Neil's Football Betting Tips along with those from the rest of the Betfred Insights Football writers on our Football home page...