Portsmouth v West Ham
Premier League
Fratton Park
Tuesday, January 26
Last meeting: West Ham 2-0 Portsmouth (26-12-09) An Alessandro Diamanti penalty and a late Radoslav Kovac header earned West Ham three valuable points against one of their chief relegation rivals at Upton Park.
The opposition: Portsmouth are in dire straits, both off the pitch and on it. With money owed to a number of parties and players not being paid several times over, conditions have not been conducive to good football. Avram Grant has battled hard to turn things around but to no avail. The club are still rooted to the foot of the Premier League table and are five points from safety.
Danger men: Kevin Prince Boateng has been one of the stand-out players for Pompey this season, putting in a number of eye-catching displays as well as popping up with the odd important goal. As long as there are no bids to entice him away from Fratton Park between now and Tuesday, he could be dangerous.
Did you know? The highest-scoring match in the club's history occurred just two seasons ago, when Pompey prevailed in an epic battle with Reading. The final score of 7-4 remains a league record to this day.
Prediction: Portsmouth 1 West Ham 2
Betting tip: Frank Nouble impressed against Aston Villa on Sunday and came close on several occasions to his first goal for the club, not least during a mazy run from the halfway line after just five minutes. The striker, who is a dead-ringer for another Hammers frontman Carlton Cole, could be a decent bet to break his duck at Fratton Park.
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