The third set of Sky Bet Championship matches in the space of a week get underway on Friday night when two sides at the wrong end of the table meet at Fratton Park when newly promoted Portsmouth play host to Sheffield Wednesday.
Portsmouth dropped to the foot of the table in midweek but have the chance to move up a couple of places here. Sheffield Wednesday can move into the top half of the table for a few hours if they come out on top so there is plenty to play for.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Football channel with the build-up beginning at 7.30pm ahead of the 8pm kick off.
Portsmouth
I suspect Portsmouth knew that this was going to be a tough first quarter of the season when the fixtures came out because their opening eight matches in particular were all very daunting for a newly promoted side but they would have expected to start picking up the pace by now with the games getting easier on paper but it isn’t really happening. They got their only win of the campaign two matches ago when they won at QPR but defeat at Cardiff in midweek sent them backwards again.
The big issue for Pompey is they have conceded 23 goals in 11 matches and even if we take out the six they shipped at Stoke recently, they have still leaked 17 in 10 and that isn’t a great combination. They are struggling a little in attacking areas of the pitch too and it has all led to a tough start to the season. Their squad is being tested to the limit and with no recovery time at all between matches recently you sense this could be a really tough ask for the south coast outfit.
Sheffield Wednesday
There were a lot of judges who expected some real significant improvement in Sheffield Wednesday this season given the fine work that they did under Danny Rohl towards the back end of the previous campaign. That hasn’t really happened so far though but to be fair to the Owls there was a decent amount of player turnover in the summer so it might be that they have needed some time to gel. They will be looking to use the next two weeks to find a bit of form.
One of the issues that the Owls have had has been their away form. They were 1-1-3 on the road this term but to their credit the win came in their last away match at Coventry. There are signs that Wednesday are improving having lost just one of their last five overall but they have failed to score in three of their last four and that is something that needs to change. They need to find a formula that works for them in front of goal if they are going to climb the table.
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Team News
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho has confessed that he is still waiting to find out the severity of the injuries picked up by Nicolas Schmid, Paddy Lane and Jordan Williams at Cardiff on Tuesday night. Will Norris is expected to remain out.
Danny Rohl has confirmed that Anthony Musaba is expected to be in contention for this match despite missing the midweek game with Swansea City. Josh Windass returned from the bench in that game and is expected to play a more prominent role in this one.
Betting
I suspect we are in for a tight and tense affair here because both teams will know the magnitude of it. Later in the season this might be one for the over because both will see it as an opportunity to win but right now it feels like a must not lose sort of game and at the end of a long week we might not see much in the way of intensity either. That is leading me towards under 2.5 goals, a bet which hasn’t been the worst punt in the world in the Championship this season, although it is generally the increased number of 12.30pm kick offs which has accounted for that.
Ultimately, we have a Portsmouth side who have scored twice in five home games this season and Sheffield Wednesday who have found the net just three times in their five away matches so both are struggling for goals. You wouldn’t say there is a standout goal threat in either side and this could quickly turn into a grind in the middle of the park where opportunities come at a premium. Sheffield Wednesday haven’t scored in three of their last four while five of the 11 Portsmouth goals this term came in their first three matches. I’ll take the under here.
Tips
Back Under 2.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
