Fulham v Portsmouth

Fulham will be looking to pile more pressure on troubled Portsmouth when they meet tonight, but they might not get things all their own way as they have been hit by injuries to many of their key players.

The Cottagers will be severely depleted for the Craven Cottage encounter. Roy Hodgson's side are currently on a run of five straight defeats, with the slump threatening to write off their European ambitions.

Portsmouth are currently six points adrift of safety at the foot of the table and need to start picking up points soon if they are to avoid dropping into the Championship.

Pompey have also claimed only one point from their last six matches on the road, but they will be boosted by the injury crisis at Fulham.

Zoltan Gera is the latest Fulham player to suffer an injury and add to Hodgson's mounting woes.

Gera has joined a long list of players in the treatment room with Andy Johnson, Paul Konchesky , Simon Davies, Clint Dempsey and John Pantsil all out.

Loan signings Nicky Shorey and Roma striker Stefano Okaka are both poised for their Fulham debuts, but it could still be more of a struggle for the home side than many people expect.

Portsmouth boss Avram Grant welcomes back African Cup of Nations trio Nadir Belhadj, Hassan Yebda and Aruna Dindane for the crunch midweek contest.

Grant could hand a full debut to new striker Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, while David James looks set to continue in goal following Asmir Begovic's deadline day move to Stoke.

The prices suggest that Fulham should pick up an easy three points, but with both teams short on confidence a cagey game could be on the cards and at 13/5 with skybet the draw looks a good bet.

It could also be worth having a small bet on 0-0 at 10/1 with stanjames.

Published 03-02-2010

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