One of the most popular competitions in the country, the world’s oldest domestic football competition is always full of giant-killing surprises – but will we see another one here?
Premier League Tottenham Hotspur will face off against League One side Portsmouth for the third-round of the FA Cup when the two sides meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. Spurs are coming off a dominant 4-0 victory against Crystal Palace on Wednesday and will have to cope with a short turnaround with just two full days of rest in between fixtures. The win was Tottenham’s first since returning to action after the World Cup break after previously having drawn against Brentford and lost to Aston Villa. They’ll now hope to carry over that goal scoring momentum against a lower division side that they will be expected to win comfortably. Spurs have somewhat quietly been having a rather solid season, sitting fifth in the Premier League on 33 points and through to the round of 16 of the Champions League. The fans would undoubtedly love a deep cup run as the side seeks its first FA Cup trophy in 30 years.
Portsmouth will come into this match with the advantage of nearly a full week's rest between this matchup and their League One clash against Charlton on New Year’s Day, in which they lost 3-1 at home. Pompey only have one win in their last six matches across all competitions and are on a run of four matches without a win. The visitors sit 12th in the English third tier with a record of seven wins, 10 draws and five defeats giving them 31 points and trailing the playoff spots by nine points. This is a difficult spot for the visitors as Spurs are coming off a goal-glut in their previous match and will look to keep up their high-octane form. With seven goals conceded in their last four matches against League One opposition, it’s unlikely they will be able to keep this Tottenham side from scoring multiple goals even if the hosts opt to field a rotated squad.
Tottenham look to continue their goal scoring form after blasting four away from home against a tricky Crystal Palace side at Selhurst Park. Manager Antonio Conte may opt to rotate slightly given the upcoming congestion on the fixture list, but with seven days in between this match and the next match against North London rivals Arsenal, we expect all the big guns to make the starting 11 here. The goals total is on the high side but this Spurs team can single-handedly cover it if they are on form. They’ve also been somewhat leaky defensively this season with the most goals conceded among the top six Premier League teams at 25. Our Tottenham vs Portsmouth prediction: over 3.5 goals