West Ham vs Portsmouth Match preview

England - Premier League: West Ham vs Portsmouth

Gianfranco Zola will have been cursing his luck after seeing his side squander their hard earned lead in the last moments of the game with Everton. The Hammers will have to forget the defeat quickly and try to win the home game against Portsmouth. Tony Adams won his first game in charge of Portsmouth, as his side took all three points from Sunderland and he will try to take at least one point from this match.

The Hammers were punished for the lack of concentration

West Ham continued their disappointing run of six games without defeat, having failed to beat Everton last weekend. Gianfranco Zola showed a lot of courage by lining up 18-year-old Freddy Sears to partner Craig Bellamy in attack. When Matthew Upson was forced to come off early on, Zola threw another youngster, Jack Collison and these two showed remarkable talent. With Craig Bellamy creating a lot of problems on both wings, Sears, Collison and Boa Morte were there to profit from the hard work done by the Welshman and the Hammers were close to breaking the deadlock in the first half. Their domination paid off in the second period when jack Collison curled the ball into the top corner after some great work from Bellamy and Parker. However, Everton once again managed to profit from the opponent’s lack of concentration and won the match by scoring three goals in the last ten minutes. It was harsh on the Hammers who had a very good game, and now Zola will have a lot of work to do on mental preparation of the match. Still, the players will have been encouraged by the great attacking game against Everton and West Ham is expected to attack Pompey from the start in search for the first win in seven matches. Zola was happy to see Scott Parker back in the team after injury, but he is still without Noble and Behrami, while Tristan and Davenport should be fit to face Portsmouth.

Tony Adams recorded the first win

The club was really shaken by the departure of Harry Redknapp and Tony Adams was given the difficult job of replacing him. Pompey were unlucky in the first two games under Adams but their luck changed last week and they managed to beat Sunderland. Former Arsenal player handed Kranjcar his first start since recovering from injury, while Crouch and Defoe continued their partnership in attack. Portsmouth started slowly and Sunderland went to the break one goal up, although the margin could have been bigger. Adams rallied the troops at half-time and the visitors too control of the match, with Belhadj leveling the score few minutes after the break. The match looked destined for a draw but Diouf brought down Johnson in the dying moments of the match and Defoe made no mistake from the penalty spot. Pompey were lucky to take all three points but they will nevertheless be pleased with a win. They will now face very attack-minded team such as West Ham and Portsmouth will be searching for their chance trough counterattacks. Croach and Defoe can score against any team in the Premiership and this promises to be very exciting match. Tony Adams will probably field the same line-up like that against Sunderland, as only Glen Little is injured, while David Nugent has recovered but he will probably miss out on this match.

Betting verdict

West Ham will be looking to make amends for the defeat against Everton and they will not change their attacking approach. Bellamy has brought a lot of good things to Hammers’ attack and he will make a lot of problems for Portsmouth defense. The visitors also have very good attackers, thus you should bet on over 2.5 here.

Our tip: Bet 4 on Over 2.5 goals
Odds 2.04 at
Bookmaker: PinnacleSports

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