Portsmouth vs. Leeds United Preview

Npower Championship

Football
Published: 20/02/2012

After entering administration and subsequently suffering a ten point deduction, Portsmouth now find themselves in a dour relegation battle and their season may go from bad to worse when they host a buoyant Leeds United side at Fratton Park on Saturday February 25.

Portsmouth may have been relishing a match-up against United who have been struggling in recent weeks however the Whites will now be focused on returning to former glories having appointed Neil Warnock on a contract until the end of the 2012/2013 campaign.

The 63-year-old, sacked from Premier League boys QPR just a few weeks ago, witnessed his new club fight back tremendously from a two goal deficit at home to Doncaster Rovers in their last league match to snatch all three points at the death and keep faint hopes of promotion alive.

And Warnock, watching from the stands having been appointed just a few hours before kick-off, had an immediate impact after entering the Leeds dressing room at half-time to give his new charges a refreshing pep-talk.

Hitman Luciano Becchio dedicated his injury time strike to interim boss Neil Redfearn and the former Barnsley man could prove to be an effective assistant to Warnock considering how well thought of he is by the squad.

A new era for Leeds dawns, however for Pompey it is a rather different story.

Struggling for form and crippled by debt, Portsmouth are in real danger of repeating what happened to their forthcoming opponents a few seasons ago – and relegation to the third tier is now a distinct possibility, particularly as playing staff at the club have not been paid amidst the club’s financial woes.

Pompey are thread –bare and head into this fixture on the back of a miserable defeat at Barnsley which left them sandwiched in the bottom three.

Leeds have been hard to support in recent weeks following their topsy-turvy form but their recovery against Doncaster was encouraging and demonstrated that they still have the talent for finding late goals – a crucial aspect of success in the division which is more competitive than ever this year.

Interestingly, Warnock saw both the good and bad of his new team and his experience is likely to sift out the latter sooner rather than later.

The win, first and foremost, will have given Leeds and their front men confidence again which will be vital towards their success in the final 14 games of the campaign.

United’s defence is indeed more inept than Pompey’s financial management however their flaws at the back do not seem such a worry when the likes of Becchio and Ross McCormack are accounting for things down the other end of the pitch.

Portsmouth will struggle against a team all playing for their places and Leeds will be keen to inflict further pain upon their league rivals.

The 19/10 available about an away victory is definitely catching and the Whites could be a team to stick with over the coming weeks.

Portsmouth meanwhile have slumped to the foot of the form table and like Leeds were prior to the appointment of Warnock, they are a club to avoid for the foreseeable future.

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Any odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of publishing (20/02/2012) but are subject to change.

20/02/2012     © Frixo 2024

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