The tough match against Liverpool (0:0) prevented Arsenal from pulling away from their pursuers in the Premier League and also took a lot out of their attack. On the other hand, in the FA Cup tie against Portsmouth, the visitors will certainly display the quality of their defensive line – without that, progressing to the next round would be out of the question.
Portsmouth
The Premier League favourites have drawn a very convenient opponent. Since 26 November, Portsmouth have suffered four defeats to nil in eight rounds of the Championship. Earlier this month against Bristol City, they looked poor in the opposition half – they produced only 0.42 xG and five efforts towards goal, with 38% possession.
Arsenal
On Thursday Arsenal did not take unnecessary risks in the match against Liverpool – this resulted in a combined 0.88 xG from the two giants of English football. At the same time, the side have retained the status of having the strongest defence in the Premier League – after 21 rounds they have conceded only 14 goals. Since the start of the campaign, they have recorded eight clean-sheet wins in all competitions, so they should have enough quality and reliability in the FA Cup, even if the coaching staff give minutes to their reserves.
Portsmouth vs Arsenal Prediction
The last time Portsmouth and Arsenal met was almost six years ago – the latter, already under Mikel Arteta, won by a clean 0:2 scoreline and went on to lift that season’s FA Cup. We are confident that they will hold firm again on Sunday.
