West Ham United V Portsmouth Betting

West Ham United V Portsmouth

Saturday 26^th December (Boxing Day) – 15:00 GMT

West Ham United

League Position: 19th

Recent Form: WLLLD

(West Ham have the worst home defensive record in the league – Conceding 20 goals)

West Ham fans will be in an optimistic mood ahead of their weekend clash with fellow relegation struggler’s, Portsmouth. The Hammers put in an immense display in their last outing, a very creditable 1-1 draw with Chelsea in a game The Hammers probably deserved to win. However, a point was still satisfactory but, with Portsmouth rapidly closing in on them, only a win will do this Saturday as West Ham aim to put a bit of space between themselves and bottom placed Portsmouth.

Gianfranco Zola was in a buoyant mood this week, which isn’t surprising considering the performance of his players in their clash at home to Chelsea. Every single player put in a big shift from start to finish, hassling Chelsea whenever they didn’t have the ball and bombing forward with pace and real urgency when on the offensive. It was an usually display from a West Ham side that has struggled so badly this season, but it was a pleasant surprise to see the West Ham of old back.

However, can The Hammers build upon their result and performance of last weekend and push on with a victory over lowly Portsmouth. We would like to think so but their form is terrible and is a big factor that will put a lot of punters off such a bet. The 1-1 draw with Chelsea ended a run of three successive defeats, although just one of those was at Upton Park – The 4-0 hammering at the hands of Man Utd. Still, their record at home this season does leave a lot to be desired (2-3-4), and although their last outing seen a much improved performance from the players, there are still questions that need answering before anyone can really take them seriously.

Goals are to be expected as all but one of West Ham’s home fixtures has featured at least three goals. The 1-1 draw with Chelsea stopped a run of eight consecutive Over 2.5 Goals games at Upton Park. The reason for so many goals has been their lacklustre defending. Robert Green, supposedly England’s number one, hasn’t even kept a home clean sheet this season, which just goes to show how even he can’t be the saviour in what is an exposed West Ham defence. They do remind me of Chelsea, although Chelsea’s is far more talented and solid, but The Hammers are also lacking a bit of organisation and Zola may have to go shopping in January for a new defender. One with leadership qualities as West Ham have shipped 20 goals at home this season. The worse home defensive record in the league.

Portsmouth

League Position: 20th

Recent Form: LWDLW

(Portsmouth have won on three of their last four visits to Upton Park)

If you think West Ham’s last result was impressive then you should a look at Portsmouth’s weekend scalp. In a match Portsmouth weren’t given much if a chance in, they came away with all three points in a comfortable fashion, beating the mighty Liverpool 2-0. They were up against a beleaguered Liverpool that day but, nevertheless, a stunning result and one that should hopefully catapult them up the league table. That’s the plan, anyway.

In terms of registering points, it’s been a difficult season for Portsmouth. However, considering they’ve been through three owners and two managers since the start of the season, the players have responded well and have put in some valiant displays this season. In fact, it’s not often that you see a bad performance from Portsmouth these days. It’s just their lacklustre finishing tends to let them down. This wasn’t the case last Saturday, though, as goals from Belhadj and Piquionne sent Portsmouth to just their fourth win of the campaign, their third at home.  

However, now Portsmouth head back onto the road and to a venue where their opponents will be just as desperate as they are to pick up all three points. On their travels this season, Portsmouth have been extremely poor, with only a victory at Wolves to show for their efforts. 1-2-6 makes for one awful away record but it’s get worse when you hear that Pompey have not only failed to win in their previous rfive away outings but that they’ve lost on three of their last four outings. They have, however, started to improve in the goalscoring department and have now scored in two consecutive away fixtures; scoring at Sunderland and even Chelsea.

Although their goalscoring fortunes are changing for the better, Portsmouth still boast the worst away offensive record in the league with just five goals. In nine away outings, Pompey have failed to find the opposing goal on four occasions and have yet to surpass the one goal marker. The amount they are conceding, though, is beginning to decrease, with Portsmouth conceding four goals in their last three away games, with two of those coming at Chelsea, so it’s steadily getting there. Still, a lot more work needs to be done and Saturday’s encounter could boil down to who wants to avoid relegation the most.

Head-to-Head (Last 10):

West Ham United W: 1 Portsmouth W: 4 Draw: 3

West Ham maybe unbeaten in two against Portsmouth but it’s the team from the South that lead the h2h between the two sides with 4 wins to West Ham’s solitary 1. West Ham were held to a 0-0 draw by Portsmouth in the same fixture last season but smashed them 4-1 in the following meeting at Fratton Park, so The Hammers should have the mental edge. However, Portsmouth have won three times at Upton Park in their last four visits, so Upton Park has been a happy hunting ground for Pompey.

Match Verdict: Draw – 3.30 Bet365

We’ve gone for a draw but we don’t expect for one minute that this will be a dull contest in London. Games at Upton Park this season have been thrilling affairs, full with goalmouth action and goals. We don’t envisage that changing on Saturday but we fancy the pair to play out their second successive draw at Upton Park after they played out a 0-0 draw their last season. Both teams will be starving for all three points, especially over one another, but we think this contest will finish honours even, hopefully in a high scoring draw.

Match Odds:

West Ham United – 2.20 totesport

Draw – 3.30 Bet365

Portsmouth – 3.75 VCbet

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Over 2.5 Goals – 2.00 Bet365