Southampton vs Portsmouth – FA Cup 5th Round Preview

Southampton v Portsmouth - St Mary’s, Saturday 13^th February 2010

Hampshire football may be deep in the doldrums, but that will not take the edge off the raw passion that characterises clashes between these two near neighbours and bitter rivals. Southampton have shrugged off the ten point penalty imposed upon them at the start of the season for going into administration and hauled themselves up to mid-table in League One, but it’s still hard to believe that the club was in the top flight just five years ago and reached the FA Cup Final in 2003. Given the Saints’ recent financial woes, plenty of eyebrows were raised when they forked out nearly $2 million to sign Rickie Lambert from Bristol Rovers back in August, but the Liverpool-born striker has justified that hefty fee by scoring 23 goals this season and he will certainly ask some questions of a Portsmouth backline that has been anything but secure so far this term. Unfortunately for the home side, they are set to be without a number of other key men through injury, including Dean Hammond, Graeme Murty and David Connolly.

Portsmouth, meanwhile, have had as many owners as they have won Premiership games this season and an amazing fifth new consortium is now said to be considering a takeover at Fratton Park. Of more immediate concern for Pompey’s long-suffering fans, however, is the fact that the club faces a winding up order this week and unless they receive a stay of execution at the High Court, they will be plunged into administration and face the kind of penalty imposed upon their derby rivals earlier in the year. On a brighter note for beleaguered boss Avram Grant, Michael Brown, Kanu and Pape Bouba Diop could all return to the squad as the 2008 FA Cup Winners look to secure an away derby victory for the first time since 1988.

The Saints will fancy their chances of pulling off the sweetest of cup upsets in front of a frenzied crowd at St Mary’s and given the crisis threatening to engulf the visitors, it may be worth having a small wager on them doing just that.

Prediction: Southampton 1-0 Portsmouth