Sports
Portsmouth vs. Arsenal: FA Cup 2020 Odds, Live Stream, TV Schedule
Frank Augstein/Associated PressArsenal visit Portsmouth on Monday in the FA Cup, with the competition representing the Gunners’ last chance of silverware this season.Mikel Arteta’s men crashed out of the UEFA Europa League against Olympiacos on Thursday, and the north London giants continue to float in mid-table in the Premier League.Pompey have been in excellent form this…
Frank Augstein/Associated Press
Arsenal visit Portsmouth on Monday in the FA Cup, with the competition representing the Gunners' last chance of silverware this season.
Mikel Arteta's men crashed out of the UEFA Europa League against Olympiacos on Thursday, and the north London giants continue to float in mid-table in the Premier League.
Pompey have been in excellent form this season. The 2008 FA Cup winners are third in League 1 and fighting hard for promotion.
Date: Monday, March 2
Time: 7:45 p.m. GMT, 3:45 p.m. ET
TV: BT Sport 1 (UK)
Stream: BT Sport Player, ESPN
Odds: Portsmouth: 127-20, Arsenal: 3-7, draw: 37-10 (via Caesars Palace)
Preview
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
After a crushing exit from Europe for Arsenal, a trip to the south coast poses plenty of questions for Arteta in the cup.
The Spaniard fielded a superior side on paper against Olympiacos, but Arsenal's lack of leadership and endeavour was exposed by the visitors during a 2-1 extra-time loss in the capital. The Greek team went through on away goals after a dramatic last-minute winner.
Football.London's James Benge was unimpressed with the Gunners' performance:
James Benge @jamesbenge
Hard to explain that performance from Arsenal. Bar Mustafi everyone else was, at best, putting in the performances they were in the dog days of Emery’s reign.
Feels like an abberation with all the progress Arteta has made but it will be a while before we know.
Per BBC Sport, Arteta told his pre-match press conference on Saturday his team are hurting, but he hopes to see a reaction in the upcoming cup tie:
“We trained today, we were all very down, frustrated and disappointed.
“The first message to them was that I am right behind them, I said ‘thank you for the attitude' – they tried, tried and tried again and deserved to win.
“We can fall and we can have disappointments but it is how we react individually and collectively.“
Pompey won't be an easy prospect for the top-flight team, and Kenny Jackett's men have produced a high level of consistency this term. Thirteen wins in their last 15 games in all competitions sees Portsmouth enter the tie high on confidence and belief.
They collected a convincing 3-0 win over Rochdale on Friday, making it 51 goals for the season in League 1—the fourth-best record in the division. Forwards John Marquis and Ronan Curtis have accounted for 24 of those goals between them, and they will look to feast on an Arsenal back line that has conceded four times in the last two games.
However, with the side just three points off the top of the table in a tight race for promotion to the Championship, Jackett may want to rest some players with a return to the second tier in sight.
Robin Jones/Getty Images
Much will also depend on Arteta's selection and whether the coach prioritises his team's cup endeavours over league position.
The Gunners still possess faint ambitions of a top-four finish, and the eight-point gap to catch Chelsea isn't impossible to bridge.
A favourable run of games could see Arsenal catapult up the table in the weeks ahead, but if Arteta wants to win a trophy, he will need to field an experienced side at Fratton Park.
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