West Brom v Portsmouth: Pompey Play up to Reach the Final as Baggies Blow it?
The top scorers in the country take on the FA Cup favourites at Wembley this weekend with Premier 10 players well aware of the potential for giant killings in this season’s competition. West Brom lie 18 places behind Portsmouth in the English Football League but after so many cup upsets this season, this could be a much tighter match than many would expect.
Goals Galore for the Baggies this Season
West Brom have become a bit of a yoyo club over the last few seasons between the Premier League and the Championship but in terms of attacking threat this is arguably their most potent side in many years. They’ve scored an impressive 78 League goals this season making them the highest scorers in all 4 divisions. They possess a variety of players with excellent scoring records including 22-goal veteran top scorer Kevin Phillips, 15-goal Ishmael Miller, 9-goal Robert Koren and 17-goal Roman Bednar. On loan Czech forward Bednar’s goal haul is particularly impressive as he only begun playing in November and has only made 20 starts this season (8 appearances as substitute). The Baggies sit in 4th place in the Championship but only 3 points separate them from top spot. They’ve been relatively inconsistent of late but have still only lost 2 of their last 11 games (in all competitions), winning 5 games in the process. West Brom have scored a total of 99 goals this season in just 48 games so will offer plenty of goal threat for David James and co. Unfortunately for the Baggies, Pompey are a solid defensive outfit packed with both pace and experience.
Despite Defoe’s Absence, Pompey Possess the Big Game Players
Portsmouth enter their first FA Cup Semi-final in 16 years full of confidence but lacking their cup-tied on fire hitman, Jermain Defoe. However, they’ve got plenty of attacking options in his absence including Milan Baros, Kanu, John Utaka and even David Nugent if needs must. They’ve won 7 of the last 9 games (2 defeats) including 6 clean-sheets in that run. However, of the 12 goals Pompey have scored since Jermain Defoe arrived at the club, the former Spurs man has scored 8 of them. Therefore, his absence could be a problem as Baros has yet to open his account for the club, Kanu has scored once in 5 months, Utaka hasn’t scored since New Year’s Day and it’s been 4 months since England’s forgotten 1 cap, 1 goal striker Nugent last grabbed a goal. Despite a lack of firepower up front, Harry Redknapp has an experienced, athletic side including internationals James, Campbell, Johnson, Muntari, Kranjcar, Bouba Diop and Diarra.
The Baggies may be the countries top scorers but I don’t expect them to overcome a strong Portsmouth rearguard. The players with big game experience all play for the Premier League side and with their added class in midfield I expect the likes of Muntari and Kranjcar to dominate possession and ultimately overpower the Championship team to reach their first FA Cup final for 69 years.
Pundit’s Pick: Redknapp to reach the FA Cup final (away win) Do you agree with this result for your Premier 10 prediction? Play Now>>
Tags: Baggies, FA Cup semi-final, pompey, Portsmouth, Premier 10 preview, West Brom
