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FA Cup betting: A Pompey win in a goal-filled match

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Andrew French tells us why West Brom's gung-ho approach should provide plenty of entertainment but also see them crash out

Before I start, I want to say I am firmly in the camp that this season's FA Cup is what the famous old competition is all about.

I want to see unexpected results. I love seeing the big clubs humbled. I am delighted that the four clubs involved in this year's semi-finals have the chance to enjoy a fairytale run to final. I'm not happy that the semi-finals are being played at Wembley, but that's another matter.

No, you'll hear no harping from me about a lack of quality in the final or the giantkilling acts we've seen this season demeaning the competition.

I wouldn't want a potentially all-Championship final every season, but similarly, I have tired of watching the same four clubs farm the trophy for what seems like an eternity.

Can you imagine how it feels to be a Portsmouth fan as their team has spent the last couple of weeks as favourites to win the FA Cup? When have they ever been favourites for anything? In fact, the [1.91] available for them to win the competition could well shrink dramatically if they get ahead of West Brom early on in Saturday's semi-final, so backing them in the outright market now is not a bad idea. It could offer some trading opportunities.

It's hard to look beyond Pompey in this tie. Admittedly they got the worst draw available to them, as Albion are a far stronger all-round side than either Cardiff or Barnsley, and they play an attractive brand of football that could well give them a sniff of a chance should they reach the Premiership this season.

Yet it's that same open and expansive approach that may well be their downfall at Wembley this weekend. The Baggies will invariably give opposing teams a few sights of goal, as underlined last weekend when basement boys Colchester stuck three past them at The Hawthorns. That West Brom came back to win the game with two stoppage-time goals is testament to their ability to create and take chances.

As so many teams have shown in recent years, errors and weaknesses you can get away with in the Championship are usually cruelly exposed when you step up a level.

Scoring goals is Albion's forte - stopping them not so. They have shipped 51 in the league this season: only one club in the top 10 of the Championship has conceded more.

On that basis, backing Portsmouth at [1.87] is the way forward - because of the goal potential, I am torn between Over 2.5 goals at [2.02] and Over 3.5 goals at [3.4]. Semi-finals have also not been dull affairs in recent years, with two 4-1 scorelines and a 3-0 in the last three seasons.

Pompey would certainly like to have been able to include Jermain Defoe in their line-up. However the striker is cup-tied - quite a blow to be without a player who has scored eight goals in his last seven games: one more than Cristiano Ronaldo.

Yet I believe Harry Redknapp's side will find a way through before half-time, and so backing Portsmouth/Portsmouth in the half-time/full-time market at [3.1] appeals.

When I was growing up I seem to recall FA Cup semi-finals being cagey, tight affairs, often settled by the just one goal - and regularly a replay was required to decide who went on to the final.

The decision to have extra-time and penalties at semi-finals has obviously ended the need for replays, but even then, you have to go back to May 2000 for the last time spot-kicks were required. The last 15 semi-finals have reached a result over either 90 or 120 minutes.

Even more significantly, of those 15 semi-finals only one - Chelsea's 2-1 win over Blackburn a year ago - went to extra-time. Of course, many people will say such trends are there to be ended, but because of that and my belief that Portsmouth will have too much for the Baggies, I'll be laying the draw at [3.8].