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Portsmouth vs Oxford United Preview - Fratton Faithful

 

Portsmouth vs Oxford United Preview

Last updated : 02 August 2013 By Jim Bonner

This summer has flown by. It doesn't seem like three months ago since the final whistle blew at Shrewsbury to call an end to a difficult season. But tomorrow Pompey take on Oxford as the rebuilding of the famous football club truly begins.

Team News

Guy Whittingham will have to choose either Phil Smith or John Sullivan between the sticks whilst Danny East and Yassin Moutaouakil are battling for a place at right back.

Joe Devera, Sonny Bradley and Andy Barcham are all almost certain to be handed their competitive debuts in a Portsmouth shirt and either Romain Padovani or Simon Ferry will start alongside Johnny Ertl.

Dave Kitson returns to Fratton Park as an Oxford player after his nightmare with Sheffield United the last time he played against his former club. Jon Meades is out for three months and will not feature tomorrow.

The Match

A small batch of tickets have been handed to the ticket office so if you have not bought your ticket yet then be sure to do so ASAP! Pompey's opening game of a season has not had this much anticipation since Harry Redknapp's side walked out alongside Aston Villa as Portsmouth won their first ever Premier League game 2-1 a decade ago

The scenario may have changed dramatically after ten years but the anticipation is still there. As cliché as it sounds, this may well be Pompey's most important match of the season in terms of keeping the "floating" fans coming back to Fratton Park.

A first opening day win since 2006 (a 3-0 thrashing of Blackburn where Kanu missed a penalty to complete a hat-trick) would set the tone for the season and ensure that the fans go home happy and wanting more.

But Oxford should be difficult opponents and have been tipped to do well this season should their signings pay off. So this game may serve as a barometer as to what to expect from Pompey this season despite the fact the season will be in its infancy.

As for what team Guy Whittingham selects for the opening day I think he may have given us a few clues with the side he picked for the Real Vallecano game on Sunday.

That will mean that Sullivan will start ahead of Smith, Moutaouakil will be favoured over East and Holmes will have to settle for a place on the bench with Wallace playing on the right wing.

The only change that may tempt the Pompey manager is to switch Romain Padovani with Simon Ferry as the former still settles into the pace of the English game.

Tom Craddock is likely to start on the bench against his former club but you can guarantee he'll be brought on to show his former employers what he can do.

Speaking of former players, a lot has been made of Dave Kitson's return to Fratton Park. People may be making too much of his presence as James Constable and Sean Rigg are capable of causing plenty of problems for a defence which has been less than impressive at times during pre-season.

But Pompey have played some good, flowing football and have plenty of players who are capable of scoring. It should be an entertaining game tomorrow but I just hope that all this anticipation isn't met with a dire game of football where Kitson scores a jammy, scrappy goal in stoppage time to win the game 1-0 for Oxford.

Whatever happens, this is just the first step on the road to recovery for Portsmouth Football Club and hopefully there'll be some glory at the end of it.

Play Up Pompey!

Predicted Starting Line-Ups

Pompey

GK: John SULLIVAN

RB: Yassin MOUTAOUAKIL

CB: Joe DEVERA

CB: Sonny BRADLEY

LB: Dan BUTLER

RM: Jed WALLACE

CM: Johnny ERTL

CM: Simon FERRY

LM: Andy BARCHAM

CF: Patrick AGYEMANG

CF: David CONNOLLY

Oxford

GK: Ryan CLARKE

RB: David HUNT

CB: Johnny MULLINS

CB: Jake WRIGHT

LB: Tom NEWEY

RM: Alfie POTTER

CM: Andrew WHING

CM: Danny ROSE

LM: Sean RIGG

CF: Dave KITSON

CF: James CONSTABLE

Last Time: Portsmouth 2 Oxford United 2 (Division One - 28/12/1998)

With both teams struggling at the bottom of Division One, Pompey fans were worried when Oxford went into the break a goal up. Thankfully, two goals from Steve Claridge (one a penalty) ensured that Alan Ball's team earned a draw after United scored again. Pompey survived and Oxford were relegated at the end of the season.

My Prediction

It's going to be difficult to predict the result of this game so early on in the season. I've seen enough in pre-season to suggest we'll score and concede goals and Oxford should provide a stern test on opening day.

Portsmouth 1 Oxford United 1