The FA Cup should always be cherished and while AFCB have an important league game on Tuesday night, it will be pleasing to see some of those who did so well for the Cherries in the last cup game against Birmingham. The young players never seem to get much of a chance in the Premier League with so few matches in the season but these cup games offer a real chance to impress and to measure their progress.
Portsmouth are no push overs either. I expect this game to be harder than the match up at Birmingham as there is a bit of a derby edge to the game, as well as the big home crowd who will get behind Pompey and provide a fabulous atmosphere with our own fans. The Pompey fans will have plenty to cheer about as well. They played with great strength against Ipswich and will be desperate to build on that. Marc McNaulty and Conor Chaplin have been scoring plenty of goals and look to be very lively in and around the box. They also have Adam McGurk who signed for them from Burton Albion last summer as well as Matt Tubbs who has been out of late with a foot injury.
There is quite a balance of new look and old about this Pompey side now under the leadership of Paul Cook. Kyle Bennett could well start in midfield and he has an England U21 cap, while we might also see former Cherries' favourite Danny Hollands in the centre of the park in blue.
Although Portsmouth lost to Oxford Utd in their last match at Fratton Park, their home form has been strong with three league wins in their last five. So getting to the fifth round is not going to be a simple prospect and Eddie Howe will have to be careful about the amount of experience he puts in the side for this game as their are some clever players at Portsmouth who have seen it all.
Among AFCB's squad there are players that need a game though and I get the feeling that Howe will back up his starting line up with some big first team subs for this one.
AFCB possible line up
Federici, Lee, Elphick, Cargill, Smith, Iturbe, O'Kane, MacDonald, King, Grabban, Murray
AFCB Subs
Allsop, Distin, Francis, Ritchie, Arter, Pugh, Goodship
Score Predictions
Can you guess the correct score line for Portsmouth v AFCB this weekend? Get your predictions in to @PeterBell19 on Twitter. Entry is free and if more than one person has the correct score we pick the winner from a hat. The prize this week is an AFCB wristband.
Make sure you continue to visit Cherry Chimes' site sponsors whenever you can Broomhill Garden Buildings, Natterjacks Vets and AltamiraDeco.
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| Birmingham was good but Portsmouth will be electric for AFCB fans. |
There is quite a balance of new look and old about this Pompey side now under the leadership of Paul Cook. Kyle Bennett could well start in midfield and he has an England U21 cap, while we might also see former Cherries' favourite Danny Hollands in the centre of the park in blue.
Although Portsmouth lost to Oxford Utd in their last match at Fratton Park, their home form has been strong with three league wins in their last five. So getting to the fifth round is not going to be a simple prospect and Eddie Howe will have to be careful about the amount of experience he puts in the side for this game as their are some clever players at Portsmouth who have seen it all.
Among AFCB's squad there are players that need a game though and I get the feeling that Howe will back up his starting line up with some big first team subs for this one.
AFCB possible line up
Federici, Lee, Elphick, Cargill, Smith, Iturbe, O'Kane, MacDonald, King, Grabban, Murray
AFCB Subs
Allsop, Distin, Francis, Ritchie, Arter, Pugh, Goodship
Score Predictions
Can you guess the correct score line for Portsmouth v AFCB this weekend? Get your predictions in to @PeterBell19 on Twitter. Entry is free and if more than one person has the correct score we pick the winner from a hat. The prize this week is an AFCB wristband.
Make sure you continue to visit Cherry Chimes' site sponsors whenever you can Broomhill Garden Buildings, Natterjacks Vets and AltamiraDeco.
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