FA Cup / Jaymes Monte / 12 February 2010 /

Jaymes Monte looks at an FA Cup game with a lot more than local pride at stake....

They say that he who laughs last laughs the loudest. Whilst Pompey fans revelled in Southampton's demise as they plummeted through the football league structure, Saints fans are now getting their revenge in a much higher profile manner. Portsmouth now have until this coming Wednesday to prove that they at least have the means to pay their creditors and if they can't then this could quite possibly be the final game of Portsmouth Football Club as we know them.

How fitting then that it could come in the form of an FA Cup game against their nearest and dearest. It was the winning of the FA Cup in 2008 that was the symbolic beginning of the demise of their club and now it could come full circle and end in the fifth round of the 2010 competition. Ironically the prize money gained from progressing to the next round could go a small way to paying off some of their debts, £180,000 will go to the club who progress to the quarter-finals. It may not be the answer to their problems but when you are in a situation like Portsmouth's, every penny really does count.

If anyone comes out of this whole affair with credit then it is certainly the players and management staff who have continued to show great resolve and determination on the pitch. It may not be enough to stave off relegation in the long run but they have certainly gained respect and admiration from many within the game and plenty of continued support from the terraces. They go into this tie against Southampton as the favourites, but not with the command that you would expect to see a Premier League club have over a League One outfit.

Portsmouth are available to back at [2.7] in the match odds whilst Southampton are only a few ticks higher at [2.9] and the draw is [3.4]. The Saints have just this week won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy southern area final and without their 10 point deduction for going into administration would have been pushing for a play-off spot in the league, so they rightly command a lot of respect. Yet I still can't get away from the fact that two divisions and 37 places in the football league pyramid separate these clubs which produces an inevitable gulf in class between the two teams. The sense of occasion will nullify that a little but the opportunity to back Portsmouth at [2.7] is screaming out as a value bet.

If Pompey are going to win then I'd have to suggest that they'll need to score more than once, only three times in 39 games have Southampton failed to score this season and only one of those was on home soil. That leads to the [2.3] on over 2.5 goals also looking like a value bet. Although the Portsmouth strikers have struggled in front of goal in the league they have played with a greater sense of freedom in the cup competitions this season and have scored 13 in four Carling Cup games and five in three in the FA Cup.

The man widely regarded as England's top referee Howard Web is tasked with keeping this potentially feisty affair under wraps. And in my opinion presents a perfect opportunity to oppose the unsurprising low prices on their being a lot of bookings in the game. Webb is a referee notorious for preferring a stern word rather than brandishing his cards and although he isn't scared to put a player's name in the book when necessary he will begin the game looking to keep his cards in his pocket. Lay '9pts and above' at anything around the [1.5] mark or lower in the Bookings Odds market.

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