Portsmouth vs Arsenal

It has been a fun and exciting premier league weekend for the neutrals. So far so good, everything is going pretty well as we are nearing the end of the premier league season. FA Cup actions is here again and as always, there a lot of exciting fixtures coming up. Arsenal will be taking on Portsmouth away at the Fratton Park later today as they continue their quest to bring the FA Cup back to the Emirates.

Portsmouth will be glad to be at this stage of this competition and to go against one of the top premier league teams. According to reports, Portsmouth have not gotten the better of the Gunners in any competition since they won the league way back in 1958. This is a long long time and they will be hoping to change that when they host Arsenal at home for the FA Cup 5th round showdown. This game means a lot for Portsmouth as they are looking to progressing to the quarter-finals since they last did it back in 2009/2010 that saw them go all the way to the finals. This is a very difficult game for Portsmouth and as expected, they are the underdogs in this fixture, and for them, a win would be an incredible result.

Portsmouth will most likely set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Since they are playing against a top side that will most likely dominate the ball, their formation would naturally transition into more of a 4-5-1 counter-attacking set up to try to capitalize on opportunities in the game to hurt Arsenal.

Arsenal are having a difficult season most especially in the premier league, they’ve been eliminated from the Europa League and it was a huge disappointment for them considering that they’ve now missed a huge avenue for playing in the champions league next season. They’ve found a bit of momentum in the league with their back-to-back premier league wins and hoping to make it 3 wins out of 3 when they play their outstanding match. For now, their attention is now turned to the FA Cup, a cup they’ve won a few times few seasons ago. At the moment, winning the FA Cup could make their season a very good one even if they fail to make it into the champions league for next season. Their FA Cup fixture kicks off later today against Portsmouth at the Fratton Park, as they continue their quest to bring back the FA Cup to the Emirates.

Arsenal are expected to set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and as the far superior team in this fixture, they are also expected to dominate major aspects to the game. Their gameplan will obviously be to dominate possession and try to find spaces in the game and to create enough chances to get the job done.

What do you think will be the outcome of this fixture?

I would love to read your thoughts and opinions… Enjoy your day.