Portsmouth vs Manchester United Preview - Portsmouth FC

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Portsmouth vs Manchester United Preview

By Jim Bonner	Sunday, 24th August 2008

Will Pompey bounce back in round 3 with United?

After the opening day mauling by Chelsea, Portsmouth fans aren't too optimistic about our chances against the Premier League and European Champions on Bank Holiday Monday.

The Red Devils have already been victorious over Pompey twice this pre-season and after the debacle at Stamford Bridge you'd think that United fans would be confident going into the game.

However, that is anything but the case as Fratton Park is a nightmare ground for Alex Ferguson and the Champions looked very ordinary against Newcastle last week.

Niko Kranjcar is a major doubt after picking up an injury playing for Croatia in midweek which means that Armand Traore could be given his first start on the left of midfield.

Harry has also hinted that John Utaka will be given a start on the right of midfield and push Papa Bouba Diop into the centre of the park alongside Lassana Diarra who has recovered from the knock he picked up at Chelsea.

Carlos Tevez will be back for United to give Pompey problems again but Nani is banned and Cristiano Ronaldo is still injured. Wayne Rooney will start but their midfield looks thin with Anderson having to be rushed back from the Olympics as Michael Carrick is injured.

I'm looking forward to this game despite last week. Our record against Fergie's men is great at Fratton Park and we always play well and get the crowd going for these fixtures in the past.

Hopefully the additional width that Traore and Utaka can provide for us will give us an added attacking edge and with Crouch and Defoe up front we have the potential to cause plenty of problems for Edwin Van Der Sar tomorrow.

My biggest concern is how our defence is going to handle Tevez and Rooney after being handed a beating by Chelsea. Will Kaboul play instead of the sluggish Sol Campbell and will our full backs be offered enough protection by the wingers?

Those questions will be answered tomorrow and I'm expecting a very entertaining game.

Predicted Starting Line-Ups

Pompey

GK: David JAMES

RB: Glen JOHNSON
CB: Sol CAMPBELL
CB: Sylvain DISTIN

LB: Hermann HREIDARSSON

RM: John UTAKA
CM: Papa BOUBA DIOP
CM: Lassana DIARRA
LM: Armand TRAORE

CF: Jermain DEFOE
CF: Peter CROUCH

Manchester United

GK: Edwin VAN DER SAR

RB: Wes BROWN
CB: Rio FERDINAND
CB: Nemanja VIDIC
LB: Patrice EVRA

RM: John O'SHEA
CM: Darren FLETCHER
CM: ANDERSON
LM: Ryan GIGGS

SS: Carlos TEVEZ
CF: Wayne ROONEY

Last Time: Pompey 1 Manchester United 1

Paul Scholes rifled the visitors in the lead with a long range strike but Redknapp changed things at half-time and Benjani powered in a header out of the blue to equalise. Sulley Muntari and Cristiano Ronaldo were sent off late on.

Pundit Watch

Lawro: Draw (1-1)
Soccernet: Home Win
Merson: Draw (1-1)

My Prediction: We can't be as bad as we were last week (can we?) and with the home crowd behind us I think we will have a point to prove. Asking for a win against the best team in Europe is probably too much but there will be goals.

Pompey 1 Manchester United 1

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