PORTSMOUTH V MANCHESTER UNITED
Monday 25th August 2008, 8pm Live on Sky Sports 1

Manchester United had a pretty ordinary opening day result when drawing 1-1 with Newcastle, that is for sure. What people seem to forget is that Shay Given had a terrific performance and United should have been a couple of goals to the good going in at half time. So for me, I would not read too much into that result because despite being somewhat off-colour and running into an inspired keeper, United still should have won the game.

Portsmouth on the other hand did not just have an ordinary opening day, they had an absolutely dreadful one. I think their 4-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was a game on two levels; On one hand Portsmouth were truly abysmal and devoid of ideas, and on the other, Chelsea looked very much the title contenders that they are. Now just because I refer to them as title contenders, this doesn't mean that I think they will win the league like lots of people are proclaiming. Rome wasn't built in a day.

The return of Carlos Tevez will be a much needed boost for United who did admittedly look a little toothless in attack in the opening fixture. Wayne Rooney absolutely ran his heart out in the game but was completely on his own for a lot of the time because although Fraser Campbell had a decent enough match, he is no Tevez that is for sure. I expect that Ferguson will emphasise the importance of getting off the board in the season and fire the players up ahead of the encounter.

Portsmouth are a very capable side in the division that had a terrifically successful season last time out, however I just feel that they will have a little too much to live up to this season and pretty much anything they do will be seen as a disappointment unless they replicate the same sort of success.
Chelsea seemed to find gaps in the 'Pompey' defence far too easily and on that evidence, they should pose few problems for United.

When Pompey play at home, they generally play to win and this will play right into United's hands. The more open the game, the more likely it is that the superior footballing team will win out.
Fratton Park can be a fierce venue to play football but this is the double winning champions we are talking about here, nothing should phase them. Expect a spirited but ultimately fruitless performance from Portsmouth.

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