Stoke City v Portsmouth – Preview

  On Saturday, Stoke will play what is without question the most important match of season to date, with Portsmouth visiting the Britannia Stadium. While Portsmouth sit fifteenth in the Premier League table, three points and two places ahead of Stoke, both clubs have to be considered as real relegation candidates as the season draws towards its close. A win for Stoke could mean a four-point cushion would open between the club and the bottom three, while keeping Portsmouth right in the relegation mix, while a Pompey win would give a huge boost to their survival chances, and send the Potters back into the depths of the relegation zone.

  Portsmouth began the season reasonably brightly under then manager Harry Redknapp, with form in both the league and Europe suggesting the recent good times at the club would keep on rolling for another season. In mid-October however, disaster struck for the club, with Redknapp, who had just been awarded the freedom of the city following last May’s FA Cup triumph, leaving to take up the vacant managerial position at Tottenham. His successor was soon appointed, Redknapp’s assistant Tony Adams being given the main job, but a desperate run of form seeing the club not win in ten games, not helped by the sale of the side’s best players in Lassana Diarra and Jermain Defoe, saw Adams sacked two weeks ago.

  Though a new permanent manager is yet to be named, experienced coach Paul Hart, who has previously managed Nottingham Forest and Barnsely, has been put in temporary charge. Already things seem to be looking up for the South coast club, as Hart’s first game, at home to Manchester City last weekend produced a 2-0 win for Pompey. Hart is well tipped to get the job on a more permanent basis, but hopefully Stoke can put a dent in his prospects with another home victory on Saturday.

  
The managerial merry-go-round has been in full turn at Fratton Park of late, with Harry Redknapp, Tony Adams and Paul Hart all taking charge of the club

  Rory Delap and Matthew Etherington, who are both suspended following dismissals for petulant offences in the games against Manchester City and Sunderland respectively, will miss the game for Stoke. This leaves both the wing positions vacant, meaning Liam Lawrence could start his first league game since September on the right hand side, while the left is likely to be filled either by Richard Cresswell, who works hard, or Henri Camara, who though primarily a striker can also do a job on the wing.

  Full-backs Danny Higginbotham and Stephen Kelly are doubts with calf and hamstring injuries and Ricardo Fuller is definitely out after dislocating his shoulder, while most importantly, talismanic target-man Mamady Sidibe is fit to play for Stoke after missing more than two months after hyper-extending his knee against Fulham on December 13th. Given his importance to the side and the way we play, it seems very likely that Sidibe will play from the start alongside James Beattie.

Sidibe’s return is a major boost for Stoke

  Hart has no new injury worries in his squad ahead of the visit to the Potteries, with Hermann Hreidarsson, who has scored in each of Portsmouth’s last two games, expected to shake off a virus in time to start. Long-term casualties Richard Hughes, Papa Bouba Diop and on-loan Arsenal left-back Armand Traore all remain sidelines though and will miss the match.

Key Battles:

Mamady Sidibe v Sol Campbell
With a combined height of twelve feet and six inches, Sidibe and Campbell will be involved in a crucial battle for aerial supremacy. Stoke have missed the hold-up play and heading prowess that Sidibe offers during his injury absence and will hope he makes an instant impact with a good display on his return.

 

Ryan Shawcross v Peter Crouch
Earlier this week, 21 year old Stoke centre-back Shawcross revealed that he has grown two inches in the last year, taking his height to total of 6’5”. Those extra inches should come in handy as he faces up against Portsmouth’s top scorer Crouch who stands a lanky 6’7”. Crouch scored a stunning bicycle kick in Portsmouth’s 2-1 win in the reverse fixture in October, and England Under 21 man Shawcross will be keen to keep him in check to avoid a repeat outcome.

 

Danny Pugh v Jermaine Pennant
Pugh is likely to continue at left-back for Stoke, and although he is sometimes caught out in the position, he is in my opinion the best option we have. He’ll come up against on loan Liverpool man Pennant on the right wing who’ll be keen to impress against the club he almost joined in the summer.

 

Portsmouth Squad:

Goalkeepers: David James (38), Jamie Ashdown (28), Asmir Begovic (21)

Defenders: Sol Campbell (34), Sylvain Distin (31), Glen Johnson (24), Younes Kaboul (23), Hermann Hreidarsson (34), Noe Pamarot (29), Armand Traore (19), Lauren (32), Martin Craine (22), Linvoy Primus (35)

Midfielders: Sean Davis (29), Hayden Mullins (29), Papa Bouba Diop (31), Jermaine Pennant (26), Niko Kranjcar (24), Richard Hughes (29), Angelos Basinas (33), Marc Wilson (21), Glen Little (33), Arnold Mvuemba (24), Jerome Thomas (25), Vitor Gomes Pele (21)

Forwards: Peter Crouch (28), David Nugent (23), John Utaka (27), Nwankwo Kanu (32), Theofanis Gekas (28)

Star Man: Peter Crouch
Crouch, who turned 28 last month, is the tallest outfield player in the Premier League at 6’7”, but surprisingly few of his goals come with his head. Fitting perfectly with the cliché of having ”good feet, for a big man”, the majority of his thirteen strikes this season have come form good finishes with he ball on the ground or from well struck shots.

  Crouch began his career at Tottenham as a teenager, before moving to Queens Park Rangers in the year 2000 and then to Portsmouth in 2001, where he scored ten times in 42 league games before moving to Aston Villa a year later. Yet another move followed in 2004 when he returned to the Southcoast with Portsmouth’s arch rivals Southampton, before a £7 million switch to Liverpool in 2005. He enjoyed some of the best times of his career at Anfield, but after falling out of favour with manager Rafael Benitez, he was tempted back for a second spell at Portsmouth last summer for an undisclosed fee. He has 31 full England caps to his name, scoring fourteen goals meaning his scoring record is somewhat better at international rather than club level. He is also the tallest ever man to represent England.

Comparative Club Stats:                    Stoke                     Portsmouth

League Position:                                            17th                                  15th

Goals Scored:                                                  28                                     40

Goals Conceded:                                             45                                     57

Home Record: (W,D,L)                                   7,4,4                                  7,4,8

Away Record: (W,D,L)                                   1,3,10                                 3,5,9

Clean Sheets:                                                   7                                       10

Failed to Score:                                               10                                      12

Form:                                                          LWLLDL                              WLLLLD

Top Scorer:                                                 Fuller (6)                           Crouch (13)