Previews

Pompey bid to get off mark

Author: Lynda Collins
Date: 30/08/2009
Football betting

A hectic Saturday may whet the appetite for football fans but three more Premier League fixtures on Sunday give little time to rest up for couch potatoes.

And a financial David v Goliath clash heads the action as Portsmouth roll out the red carpet at Fratton Park for the visit of Manchester City.

The Citizens have spent around £225million on players in 12 months, while the big activity at their opponents in the same period has seen expensive departures as they deconstruct their FA Cup-winning squad of 2008.

Joleon Lescott became the third most expensive defender in world football this week and he may make his City debut in the Premier League on the south coast.

Lescott is sure to command a regular place in the heart of defence at Eastlands, but manager Mark Hughes has a welcome dilemma as he looks to decide on his best strikeforce.

Portsmouth's buy-out by Sulaiman Al Fahim is finally complete and it gave manager Paul Hart a couple of days to add much-needed reinforcements to his squad.

Even though they Pompey are at home, any points will be probably treated as a bonus as City are odds-on sportsbook favourites to win the encounter.

How will Sunday's games turn out? Latest Football Betting

Everton's Europa League involvement has pushed their fixtures back to Sundays and they return to Goodison to play Wigan Athletic in dire need of a win.

A 6-1 humbling to Arsenal was followed by defeat at Burnley, leaving the Toffees rock bottom of the league ladder.

With Lescott gone, Moyes has plenty of cash to play with as he seeks defensive reinforcements, as Joseph Yobo is the only fit centre-half in his first-team squad.

Mikel Arteta could return from a long term cruciate ligament lay-off, while a debut could be handed to new recruit Diniyar Bilyaletdinov.

Wigan are in a lull themselves. A 5-0 defeat at home to Manchester United could be excused as they turned in a fair performance, despite the scoreline. But in midweek, they were outclassed by Blackpool in a 4-1 Carling Cup defeat at Bloomfield Road.

New boss Roberto Martinez will be demanding more of his players, though Goodison is never an easy place to go to, particularly when the Gwladys Street end is demanding three points.

The weekend ends with Aston Villa and Fulham colliding at Villa Park. Talks of a crisis in the West Midlands were quickly dismissed by a stunning 3-1 win at Liverpool on Monday, signalling the Villains' intent to continue their development after a strong 2008-09 season.

Fulham are also looking to build after they qualified for Europe last season, but they approach the game without Andy Johnson, while captain Danny Murphy is a doubt.

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