BPL Game Week 2

Midweek action this week as we see 14 teams face off against one another in early season fixture congestion. This time we take a look at last season’s top 2, both playing a tricky away game.

Portsmouth vs Manchester United

Team Update

In their previous encounter against Reading, United had a massive share of possession but could not turn them into goals. Reading sat back defending deep, leaving little room for United to play their counter-attacking style of play, where players will push the ball forward into space and run at defenders. They were obviously not accustomed to passing the ball around and looking for openings patiently, something a team like Barcelona would be adapted to. This was further compounded with their lack of a target man which could act as an extra option to play the ball to if there were limited opportunities to run at defenders. Ah yes, Rooney is injured again meaning Tevez will be drafted into the action earlier than Sir Alex would like.

This time round, it would unlikely that Portsmouth will be adopting Reading’s style of play as they would feel they could snatch something away from this game, rather than settle for a draw, since Fratton Park has always been a fortress. Once again it has to be said that the trio of David James, Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin will be a very tough nut to crack, was quite surprised that they conceded 2 goals against Derby which could be one-off, or could spell underlying possible fractures. Yet, Portsmouth are capable of scoring as seen in pre-season and in their first game against Derby. With talent like Nugent, Utaka and Benjani leading the forward line, the mercurial Lua Lua will be missed, but not much. The weak link lies in their wide positions in defense, where Lauren and Hreidarsson are prone to lapses in concentration, as well as a lack of pace to keep up with United’s speed. If Portsmouth deploys the same tactic as Reading of having the defense and midfield sitting deep whenever they do not have possession, it may again cause some problems for United.

Portsmouth Probable 11: David James, Sol Campbell, Sylvain Distin, Lauren, Hermann Hreidarsson, Pedro Mendes, Sean Davis, Sulley Muntari, John Utaka, David Nugent, Benjani Mwaruwari

Manchester United Probable 11: Edwin van Der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Mikael Silvestre, Wes Brown, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Partrice Evra, Cristiano Ronaldo, John O’Shea, Carlos Tevez

Head-2-Head

English Premier Portsmouth 2-1 Man United 07-04-2007

English FA Cup Man United 2-1 Portsmouth 27-01-2007

English Premier Man United 3-0 Portsmouth 04-11-2006

English Premier Portsmouth 1-3 Man United 11-02-2006

English Premier Man United 3-0 Portsmouth 03-12-2005

Score Prediction: Portsmouth 1-3 Manchester United

Final Notes: I expect United to sort themselves out and put in a strong performance. Portsmouth is worth as least a goal in this game because of their respectable strike-force and United’s defensive frailties. The question here is can United score more than they concede, and how much can Tevez contribute on his debut. United will be looking to avenge the coresponding fixture last seasonwhen they lost 2-1. I anticipate this game like a giggling girly.

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Reading vs Chelsea

Team Update

Terry’s presence in defense is sorely missed, as demonstrated by the two goals Chelsea conceded against Birmingham. Even this would not stop Chelsea from keeping a clean sheet in this game. Moreover they possess a variety of quality going forward, scoring 3 different kinds of goals against Steve Bruce’s side and threatening in every tactical form of attack that football possesses – speed and trickery wide which sends crosses in, driving midfield middle that are good from range, a goal poacher and a strong target man who can hold up the ball well and involve his teammates with intelligent play. It has to be noted that this was all done against a team that did not look comfortable as a defensive unit. I do not expect Chelsea to let up though, and they should put in another sterling offensive display to clinch a result. If Chelsea manages to have a 2 goal cushion before the 60^th minute, I expect to see Sidwell, Drogba and Joe Cole coming on as substitutes for match fitness.

It is precisely the variety in attacking options that they have that would pose as a tactical dilemma to Steve Coppell. Certainly his sit-back-and-defend tactics would not hold out against a quality side like Chelsea. Reading lacks the quality going forward and attempt to match Chelsea goal for goal to try to get a result. As a result, I believe Reading will not be able to get even a point from this fixture and their best option is actually to do some damage limitation. One thing that could prove to be useful is to employ a rough-and-tough approach to the game and try to throw Chelsea’s players off-focus by riling them up. Essien, Lampard, Mikel, Ashley Cole, Ben-Haim, Carvalho all are susceptible to such treatment and could react.

Reading Probable 11: Marcus Hahnemann, Ulises De la Cruz, Michael Duberry, Ivar Ingimarsson, Graeme Murty, Nicky Shorey, Brynjar Gunnarsson, James Harper, Stephen Hunt, Seol Ki-Hyeon, Kevin Doyle

Chelsea Probable 11: Petr Cech, Tal Ben-Haim, Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson, Frank Lampard, Jon Obi Mikel, Sean Wright-Phillips, Florient Malouda, Salomon Kalou, Claudio Pizarro

Head-2-Head

English Premier Chelsea 2-2 Reading 26-12-2006

English Premier Reading 0-1 Chelsea 14-10-2006

English League Cup Reading 0-1 Chelsea 03-12-2003

English League Cup Chelsea 3-2 Reading 07-10-1987

English League Cup Reading 3-1 Chelsea 23-09-1987

Score Prediction: Reading 0-3 Chelsea

Final Notes: Reading will find tactical problems in handling this offensively excellent Chelsea side and the result is inevitable. How big the margin will be will depend on how many minutes Mourinho tells his side to go full steam.

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Tonight we will see Spurs hoping to put the shock defeat by Sunderland behind them as they face an Everton side fresh from a moral-boosting win over the weekend. The other matches on Thursday early morning include Steve Bruce’s Birmingham attempting to set the record straight against a buoyant Sunderland and show them who was last season’s champions, Fulham and Bolton face each other fresh from agonizing defeats, another wound-licking fest is Wigan at home to Middlesbrough, and Man City will try to make it two wins on the trot against a Derby side that performed beyond expectations last weekend, and trust me their first game was just a one off as I expect City to boss them around.

Here’s a good mid-week to all and I’ll catch you over the weekend.