Man City v Portsmouth preview

Benjani to face former club as Pompey aim to impress

By Ben Collins   Last updated: 20th April 2008

Sven Goran Eriksson Manchester City manager

Eriksson: Aims to appease owner

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Man City 3 Portsmouth 1


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Man City 5/4 Draw 9/4 Portsmouth 7/4


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Benjani


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Manchester City will hope to maintain the feelgood factor at Eastlands when FA Cup finalists Portsmouth visit on Sunday.

City claimed a welcome away win at Sunderland last week and the club's youth team beat Chelsea to win their first FA Youth Cup for 22 years in midweek.

However, City spirits have been tempered somewhat by comments from owner Thaksin Shinawatra this week casting doubt on the future of manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

The former Thai prime minister, who is set to attend Sunday's game, told reporters in Dubai he would review Eriksson's position in the summer after being "not happy with the performance of the club in the second half of the season".

Slump

That view is shared by City fans after seeing the Blues slide out of the top four to eighth having won just four of their 16 league games since Christmas.

But Eriksson remains a popular figure at Eastlands, with City needing just one more point to register their best-ever Premier League points tally and they still have a slim chance of claiming European qualification.

Despite being on the brink of securing a Uefa Cup place through the FA Cup, Portsmouth have stepped up their challenge for a European spot in the league too.

Pompey go into Sunday's game four points behind fifth-placed Everton after winning four of their last six league games and manager Harry Redknapp will be keen for his side to remain in top form heading into the FA Cup final against Cardiff on May 17th.

Reunion

Benjani is set to face his former club for the first time since his protracted deadline-day move to City in January. The Zimbabwe striker scored 12 goals for Pompey in the first half of the season and although the deal did not appear to go through in time, it eventually got the go-ahead.

Micah Richards has just missed out as he continues his recovery from knee surgery while Nedum Onuoha (dislocated shoulder) is out for the season so Vedran Corluka should continue in the centre of the City defence alongside Richard Dunne.

City goalkeeper Joe Hart has returned to training after suffering a knock at Sunderland and striker Daniel Sturridge is doubtful with the knee problem that ruled him out of the youth team's midweek cup success.

The Pompey players will be aiming to impress as they battle it out for FA Cup final places and they need one more clean sheet to surpass the club record of 22 in a season.

Trio return

John Utaka, Lassana Diarra and Milan Baros are all set to return following injury, with Baros likely to partner Jermain Defoe up front.

Defender Glen Johnson is expected to recover in time from an illness while Redknapp could rest Niko Kranjcar after a busy period for the Croatia midfielder.

Man. City v Portsmouth. Click here to bet.