[vbookie] Tottenham - Portsmouth [MD]

[MyFootballFacts]

Wembley Stadium, London (Capacity 90,000)
Sunday 11th April 2010, Kick Off 16:00
FA Cup, Semi-Final










Tottenham Hotspur: 5th in Premier League, 58 points from 96
Portsmouth: 20th in Premier League, 14 points* from 99 (*9 point deduction)

Referee: Alan Wiley
Assistant Referees: Peter Kirkup and David Richardson
Fourth Official: Stuart Attwell
Reserve Assistant Referee: Simon J Long


COMMENT:

Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth meet at Wembley on Sunday 11th April in the second FA Cup Semi Final of season 2009-10 after Aston Villa & Chelsea played at the same venue the previous day. The tie will be settled on the Sunday with 30 minutes extra time and a penalty shoot-out, if needed. Full details & statistics of all this season's FA Cup matches, from the First Qualification Round onwards can be found here.

Spurs reached the Semi-Final after beating Peterborough United 4-0 at home in the Third Round, Leeds United 3-1 at Elland Road after a 2-2 draw at home in the Fourth Round, Bolton Wanderers 4-0 at White Hart Lane after a 1-1 draw at the Reebok Stadium in the Fifth Round and a 3-1 win over Fulham at home after a 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage.

Portsmouth accounted for Coventry City 2-1 away after a 1-1 draw at Fratton Park in the Third Round, Sunderland 2-1 at home in the Fourth Round, Southampton away 4-1 in the Fifth Round and Birmingham City 2-0 at home in the Sixth Round.

The last Premier League meeting between the two clubs was very recently on 27th March at White Hart Lane with Spurs winning 2-0 through goals from Pompey old boys Peter Crouch and Niko Kranjcar. The reverse fixture at Portsmouth earlier this season saw Spurs win 2-1, thanks to goals from Ledley King and Jermain Defoe with former Spurs midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng pulling one back for Pompey. Spurs have won nine of the 14 Premier League matches played between the two clubs with Portsmouth winning three times and two drawn matches.

Jamie O'Hara, who has been one of Portsmouth's outstanding players this season, is ineligible to play in the FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley as he is on loan from Tottenham. The current Spurs team includes former Pompey players Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Niko Kranjcar and Younes Kaboul while Portsmouth's squad features former Spurs players Michael Brown, Ricardo Rocha, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jamie O'Hara. Harry Redknapp had two spells as Portsmouth's manager from March 2002 to November 2004 and from December 2005 to October 2008.

Portsmouth have won the FA Cup twice in their history. Their first win came in 1939 when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 and the second came more recently in 2008 when Harry Redknapp led them to a 1-0 win over Cardiff City. Tottenham Hotspur's eight FA Cup Wins have come against Sheffield United (1901), Wolverhampton Wanderers (1921), Leicester City (1961), Burnley (1962), Chelsea (1967), Manchester City (1981), Queens Park Rangers (1982) and Nottingham Forest (1991).

TEAM NEWS:

Harry Redknapp will make late decisions on the fitness of five players before Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Portsmouth at Wembley. Michael Dawson (Achilles), Tom Huddlestone (ankle), Vedran Corluka (ankle), Ledley King (thigh) and Jermaine Jenas (groin) will be given time to prove their fitness. However, Harry has ruled out any possible return at Wembley for Aaron Lennon (groin) and we go into the tie without cup-tied Kyle Walker and Younes Kaboul.

"It will be a last-minute decision with a few of the lads," said Harry on Friday morning. "They will come out this morning and have a stretch with us but they won't actually train until tomorrow. You never know, they might all be okay or none of them will be okay. It's very much a case of wait and see, it's that tight with them. Michael has been having treatment morning and afternoon and we'll see how he is tomorrow. We won't play him unless he's okay. I really couldn't say at the moment but if anyone can play, he will. He's a fantastic professional and a great character but he has to be right. Hopefully one or two will be okay. Ledley hasn't trained at all but he's going to come out and have a stretch and see how he feels. He's doubtful, but you never know."

As for Aaron, Harry added: "He's not fit to play. We're taking it day by day, seeing how he progesses. Until he's ready we won't push him back in. We'll wait until he's right." Harry also reported that midfielder JJ was scheduled to join the players for a warm-up this morning for the first time since his groin problem.

Portsmouth could welcome back Nadir Belhadj, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Papa Bouba Diop from injury. Keeper David James, who sat out the goalless draw against Blackburn with a calf strain, has returned to training.

MATCH FACTS:

To follow later.

LAST MATCH LINE-UPS:

Tottenham Hotspur (L 1-3 Sunderland A)

Gomes, Kyle Walker, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto (Kranjcar 45), Bentley (Defoe 45), Palacios, Modric, Bale, Gudjohnsen, Pavlyuchenko (Crouch 70)

Substitutes: Alnwick, Dervite, Livermore, Rose

Goal: Crouch 72

Portsmouth (D 0-0 Blackburn Rovers H)

Ashdown, Rocha, Vanden Borre, Mokoena, O'Hara, Mullins, Brown, Utaka (Piquionne 72), Hughes (Sowah 64), Basinas, Kanu

Substitutes: O'Brien, Ward, Ritchie, Nlundulu

Yellow Cards: Vanden Borre, Brown

Red Card: Vanden Borre

MARK LAWRENSON'S PREDICTION (BBC):

Both teams come into this with injury worries - Tottenham defensively, in particular, and Portsmouth, well, everywhere you look in their squad. I know some people will have already written Portsmouth off, but the fact is this is their Cup final for so many reasons; they are relegated all but mathematically, every single one of their players is playing either for a move or for a new contract, and the financial reward for reaching a Cup final would be massive for the club.



Every single person connected with the club has a massive incentive in this match. And if I was [Portsmouth boss] Avram Grant, I'd be urging my players to make it extremely uncomfortable for Spurs. He's not going to turn Portsmouth into an irresistible attacking force overnight so they have to grind the opposition down, flood the midfield and sneak a result. Saying that, I can't really see past Tottenham winning. I definitely see it being tight, possibly going to extra-time, but Spurs will always cause you problems with their attacking players and that might just be enough to see them through this one.



Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Portsmouth (& Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea)

FA CUP SEMI-FINALS 2009-10:

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FA CUP GOALSCORERS 1894-95 TO 2009-10:

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR AT WEMBLEY 1961 - 2010:

Wembley Stadium was still under construction when Tottenham Hotspur beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 1921 FA Cup Final and it took a further 40 years before Spurs made their first appearance at Wembley. Sunday's FA Cup Semi-Final against Portsmouth will be Tottenham's 25th visit to the stadium.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS:

Saturday afternoon's match will be the 107th meeting between Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth.

Here are the results of the previous 106 matches with Spurs' score shown first:

18-Sep-1899 S&D Comb Lge 4,000 H W 2 - 0 Cameron, Kirwan
25-Dec-1899 Southern Lge 14,000 H W 3 - 0 Pratt, Copeland, Kirwan
17-Jan-1900 S&D Comb Lge 4,000 A D 2 - 2 Smith, Pratt
03-Mar-00 Southern Lge 7,000 A L 0 - 1
03-Nov-00 Friendly - A W 3 - 1 Cameron, Brown, Kirwan
17-Nov-00 Western Lge 5,000 H W 8 - 1 McNaught (2) Jones AE, Morris, Brown (2), Cameron, Kirwan
25-Dec-00 Southern Lge 12,000 H W 4 - 1 Smith, Brown, Jones JL, Kirwan
17-Apr-01 Western Lge - A L 0 - 1
24-Apr-01 Southern Lge 3,000 A L 0 - 4
16-Nov-01 Western Lge 16,000 A L 1 - 3 Brown
25-Dec-01 Southern Lge 14,000 H L 1 - 2 Cameron
17-Mar-02 Western Lge 4,000 H D 0 - 0
31-Mar-02 Southern Lge 13,400 A L 0 - 1
30-Apr-02 Friendly - A W 2 - 0 Barlow, Copeland
08-Nov-02 Western Lge 11,000 H D 0 - 0
29-Nov-02 Western Lge 9,000 A D 2 - 2 Barlow (2)
25-Dec-02 Southern Lge 23,000 H D 2 - 2 Dryburgh,Warner
13-Apr-03 Southern Lge 12,000 A L 0 - 2
31-Oct-03 Western Lge - A W 3 - 0 Woodward (2), Copeland
25-Dec-03 Southern Lge 20,000 H D 1 - 1 Jones J. (pen)
27-Feb-04 Western Lge 12,000 H D 1 - 1 Walton
04-Apr-04 Southern Lge 11,000 A L 0 - 1
22-Oct-04 Western Lge 15,000 A L 0 - 1
27-Dec-04 Southern Lge 28,000 H D 1 - 1 Woodward
17-Apr-05 Western Lge - H L 0 - 1
24-Apr-05 Southern Lge 10,000 N L 2 - 3 Bull, Chapman
28-Oct-05 Western Lge - A D 0 - 0
25-Dec-05 Southern Lge 33,000 H W 3 - 1 Chapman, Kyle, Carrick
03-Mar-06 Western Lge 6,000 H D 1 - 1 Kyle
16-Apr-06 Southern Lge 12,000 A L 0 - 1
03-Nov-06 Southern Lge 20,000 H D 1 - 1 Reid
07-Nov-06 Western Lge 4,000 A L 0 - 1
26-Nov-06 Western Lge 8,000 H W 4 - 2 Brearley, Hewitt (pen), Walton (2)
09-Mar-07 Southern Lge 12,000 A L 1 - 3 Woodward
26-Oct-07 Southern Lge 10,000 A W 2 - 1 Seeburg (2)
06-Apr-08 Southern Lge 6,000 H L 2 - 3 Middlemiss, Phillips og
16-Dec-16 London Comb 2,000 Hi X 1 - 0 Abandoned (Scorer: Banks)
17-Feb-17 London Comb 5,000 A W 4 - 2 Bliss (4)
31-Mar-17 London Comb 2,000 Hi W 10 - 0 Elliott, Bassett, Banks (5), Thwaites (2), Hulme og
10-Apr-17 London Comb 2,000 Hi W 2 - 1 Walden, Middlemiss
17-Sep-27 Division 1 26,115 A L 0 - 3
19-Mar-28 Division 1 12,829 H L 0 - 3
14-Oct-33 Division 1 25,679 A W 1 - 0 O'Callaghan
24-Feb-34 Division 1 26,921 H D 0 - 0
27-Oct-34 Division 1 33,461 H W 4 - 1 Bolan, Howe, Hunt GS (2)
09-Mar-35 Division 1 11,687 A D 1 - 1 Evans W (pen)
16-Jan-37 F.A. Cup 3 32,665 A W 5 - 0 Morrison (3), Duncan, Miller
16-Mar-40 FL South C 7,000 A W 2 - 1 Duncan, Dix
11-May-40 FL South C 5,301 H W 4 - 1 Morrison (3), Medley
26-Oct-40 Reg Lge Sth 1,351 H L 1 - 2 Howe
15-Nov-41 London WarLge 6,095 A W 2 - 1 Ludford, Broadis
21-Feb-42 London WarLge 4,813 H D 1 - 1 Gibbons
24-Oct-42 Football Lge Sth 8,500 A L 0 - 1
30-Jan-43 Football Lge Sth 7,146 H W 5 - 2 Beasley, Gibbons, Ludford (3)
26-Feb-44 LgeSth Cup S2 15,224 H W 1 - 0 Rowley
18-Mar-44 LgeSth Cup S2 15,000 A W 2 - 1 Rowley (2)
16-Sep-44 Football Lge Sth 14,167 H D 1 - 1 Walters
30-Dec-44 Football Lge Sth 15,000 A D 0 - 0
06-Apr-46 Football Lge Sth 22,000 A W 1 - 0 Medley
13-Apr-46 Football Lge Sth 23,000 H W 2 - 0 Foreman (2)
04-Nov-50 Division 1 66,402 H W 5 - 1 Walters, Duquemin, Baily (3)
24-Mar-51 Division 1 49,716 A D 1 - 1 Uphill
24-Nov-51 Division 1 46,815 A L 0 - 2
12-Apr-52 Division 1 66,988 H W 3 - 1 Duquemin, Baily (2)
08-Nov-52 Division 1 40,462 A L 1 - 2 Uphill
28-Mar-53 Division 1 38,636 H D 3 - 3 Duquemin (2), Harmer
25-Dec-53 Division 1 36,502 H D 1 - 1 Brooks
26-Dec-53 Division 1 36,677 A D 1 - 1 Walters
18-Sep-54 Division 1 37,404 H D 1 - 1 McClellan
05-Feb-55 Division 1 27,539 A W 3 - 0 Gavin (2), Duquemin
29-Oct-55 Division 1 26,018 A L 1 - 4 Robb
10-Mar-56 Division 1 44,314 H D 1 - 1 Smith R
03-Nov-56 Division 1 31,903 A W 3 - 2 Smith R, Brooks, Wilson og
16-Mar-57 Division 1 36,110 H W 2 - 0 Smith R, Mansell og
28-Aug-57 Division 1 33,479 A L 1 - 5 Smith R
04-Sep-57 Division 1 35,813 H L 3 - 5 Harmer (pen), Brooks, Dulin
04-Oct-58 Division 1 26,402 A D 1 - 1 Stokes
21-Feb-59 Division 1 27,237 H D 4 - 4 Smith R (2), Clayton, Jones (pen)
02-Feb-63 Friendly - A W 3 - 2 Mackay, Medwin, Greaves
18-Feb-67 F.A. Cup 4 57,910 H W 3 - 1 Greaves, Gilzean (2)
07-Aug-74 Friendly - A W 2 - 0 Jones, Neighbour
30-Jul-80 Friendly - A W 2 - 1 Hughton, Falco
09-Aug-83 Friendly - A W 3 - 1 Roberts, Galvin, Mabbutt
20-Nov-85 League Cup 4 28,619 H D 0 - 0
27-Nov-85 League Cup 4 Replay 28,100 A D 0 - 0
10-Dec-85 League Cup 4 2nd Replay 26,306 A L 0 - 1
04-Nov-87 Division 1 15,302 A D 0 - 0
02-Apr-88 Division 1 18,616 H L 0 - 1
16-Feb-91 F.A. Cup 5 26,049 A W 2 - 1 Gascoigne (2)
10-Aug-92 Friendly 10,929 A L 2 - 4 Samways (2)
09-May-99 Friendly/Test 6,775 A L 2 - 4 Iversen, Anderton
25-Jly-2001 Friendly 15,144 A W 5 - 2 Sheringham, Iversen, Clemence, Rebrov (2)
26-Dec-03 FA Prem 20,078 A L 0 - 2
07-Feb-04 FA Prem 36,107 H W 4 - 3 Defoe, Keane (2), Poyet
18-Oct-04 FA Prem 20,121 A L 0 - 1
05-Feb-05 FA Prem 36,105 H W 3 - 1 Mido (2), Keane
13-Aug-05 FA Prem 20,215 A W 2 - 0 Griffin og, Defoe
10-Dec-05 FA Prem 36,141 H W 3 - 1 King, Mido (pen), Defoe
01-Oct-06 FA Prem 36,063 H W 2 - 1 Murphy, Defoe (pen)
01-Jan-07 FA Prem 20,194 A D 1 - 1 Malbranque
15-Dec-07 FA Prem 20,520 A W 1 - 0 Berbatov
22-Mar-08 FA Prem 35,998 H W 2 - 0 Bent, O'Hara
28-Sep-08 FA Prem 20,352 A L 0 - 2
18-Jan-09 FA Prem 36,011 H D 1 - 1 Defoe
17-Oct-09 FA Prem 20,821 A W 2 - 1 King, Defoe
27-Mar-10 FA Prem 35,870 H W 2 - 0 Crouch, Kranjcar
11-Apr-10 F.A. Cup Semi-Final Wembley

Full match preview, featuring report and images from the last meeting between Spurs & Portsmouth, available here:

My Football Facts & Stats | Tottenham Hotspur | Match Preview 44

[YIDDO]

Cracking read, I'm already excited for this.

COYS

[YIDDO]

We need Dawson and Huddlestone back atleast, it seems that only Hudders will be back.

Lennon may be on the bench, hopefully.

[gb]

I just hope it's as straight-forward as it should be on paper.

[toonmad]

Its ahould be gb mate

[itownvillan]

i want pompey to win, but only because i want to see old candle faced shamed after the way he left pompey.

[toonmad]

Fair point

[itownvillan]

i get the feeling this is going to be a very good game.

[toonmad]

It will be a very good game to watch indeed

[MyFootballFacts]

I just hope it's as straight-forward as it should be on paper.

It's Spurs we're talking about here.

Things are never as straight-forward as they should be.

But I really think Spurs have far too much quality for Portsmouth to handle on Sunday.

---------- Post added at 11:25 ---------- Previous post was at 09:56 ----------

[irons_4_ever]

would like to see pompy make the final given the season they have had be pretty special i think, but i like to see London clubs do well even if it is spurs.

I think spurs are going to be to strong

[YIDDO]

i want pompey to win, but only because i want to see old candle faced shamed after the way he left pompey.

I'd of left Pompey if they was in that state. It had nothing do with Harry, it's that bastard Storrie who's crippled the club.

As for the game, my tickets arrived this morning, 3 wembley visits in 3 seasons! Thankyou Spurs.

[itownvillan]

I'd of left Pompey if they was in that state. It had nothing do with Harry, it's that bastard Storrie who's crippled the club.

As for the game, my tickets arrived this morning, 3 wembley visits in 3 seasons! Thankyou Spurs.

its not the crippling of the club, its the way 'arry left them mid-season as soon as someone else came knocking. should have had the balls and the character to see out the rest of the season imo.

[Micah5]

Like most neutrals I'll be hoping for a Pompey win but I just can't see them pulling it off. Spurs are too good

[itownvillan]

it'd make the media happy to see spurs in it. chelsea as well for that matter. the media loves sensually fondling the london clubs.