Chelsea v Portsmouth FA Cup Betting should give Blues boss Andre Villas Boas a bit of a respite from the high pressures of his first season in charge at the Bridge. It hasn’t been all plain sailing for Chelsea, and now they get to enjoy the comforts of home turf against a struggling Championship side. This should be a comfortable afternoon for Chelsea, you would think, but they have been guilty of letting matches slip this season, and nearly did so again after the turn of the new year, needing a late winner from Frank Lampard to pick up three points at Wolves after the Blues had conceded an 84th minute equalizer. That was Chelsea’s only win in their last five league matches, not the rampant kind of form you would expect from a team who are supposed to be challenging for top spot in the Premier League. Still, they are hanging in there, and they are still firing on domestic and European fronts. There have been suggestions of dressing room unrest which have been played down, and now Bolton’s Gary Cahill looks to be the club’s prime target for a quick purchase to tighten things up at the back. Chelsea have had problems at centre half this season, and they have struggled to keep clean sheets. But surely Andre Villas Boas will take a chance here to rest a couple of players and give more game time to certain people like Fernando Torres who needs to find some confidence. Chelsea will be without Ivory Coast duo Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou who are not permitted to play because of international duties with the forthcoming African Cup of Nations. This really shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for Chelsea, not at home, as they generally don’t give too much away there (although they have lost ten points at the Bridge this season).
Pompey will look back and see that Chelsea have shown patches of vulnerability at home, as the Blues crashed out of the Carling Cup there against Liverpool. However, what should put the ball even more firmly in the court of the London side in Chelsea v Portsmouth FA Cup betting, is the fact that Portsmouth have been struggling on the road badly this season. They have managed just one league win out of twelve attempts now and the bookies are really not giving Pompey too much of a chance at Stamford Bridge. Pompey boss Michael Appleton has already said that he hopes to avoid getting an FA Cup spanking, so that doesn’t exactly enthuse Portsmouth fans taking the trip up to London. If there was a time for Portsmouth though to pull out a big upset, it would be now. The club are looking for new owners, and it sounds unlikely that the club are going to have any money to spend in the January transfer window to help their position. A win at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup though would do wonders for the coffers and confidence on the south coast.
Chelsea v Portsmouth FA Cup Betting Odds
Chelsea to win: 1/6 at Bet365
Draw: 6/1 at SkyBet
Portsmouth to win: 16/1 at Victor Chandler
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