Sky Sports expert Paul Merson looks ahead to this weekend's live offerings.....
Merse on Portsmouth v Tottenham
Merse on Wigan v Man City
Portsmouth v Tottenham
The wheels have fallen off for Portsmouth in the last week.
Defoe: faces former club
The confidence of the players must be shot after letting in 10 goals in two games and I'd be surprised if David James has ever had a week like it in football. Everything has been going brilliantly for him for the last two years, but sometimes you have a spell where things don't go right.
I still think James is the best in the business and the good thing about him is those 10 goals won't worry him one iota. I've played with him and there is no way he'll let it get to him. He's got some unbelievably good defenders in front of him and they need to sort out their problems. Tottenham are going to be better on their travels, away from the pressure of their home crowd and this is a dangerous game for Portsmouth.
A couple of years ago you'd look at this game and think "Wigan v Man City? I'd rather go and feed the goldfish." But not nowadays - this could be a classic!
Paul Merson
Quotes of the week
1pm, Sun, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
Wigan v Man City
3.30pm, Sun, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
I know Tony Adams and I know Harry Redknapp and a clean sheet will be the priority for them on Sunday. Blackburn were letting in goals at the start of the season, but all of a sudden, bang - two clean sheets and two 1-0 wins. It might not have been pretty but that's what Portsmouth will want on Sunday.
A couple of weeks ago I saw Spurs and they couldn't score for toffee, let alone win a game. Meanwhile, Jermain Defoe was whacking goals in everywhere and I thought this might be the game where he'd bite them on the backside. He was didn't get a kick against the Premier League's creme-de-la-crème in Portsmouth's first two games but since then he's been on fire. I can't believe Spurs let him go because he's the nearest thing we have to Ian Wright in the Premier League - he plays like him and celebrates like him too. I thought the script was written for Defoe to score the winner to put more pressure on his old club, but after Spurs' win in midweek they might be a bit more up for it.
Spurs' silly sales
Tottenham aren't good enough to be letting Defoe, Keane and Berbatov leave. It's like Manchester United selling Ronaldo, Tevez and Rooney - you just couldn't do it. That's one reason why they're bottom of the league and the other is that the manager doesn't know what his best team is yet.
For me Luka Modric isn't a central midfield player. It can't get much worse for him after the start he's had - if he got any worse he'll be gone in January - but I'm sure he'll get better. The Premier League is difficult and I don't think he's athletic enough to be in central midfield yet. He's a free spirit and should be playing in the hole behind the front man to do what he wants. Unfortunately Spurs aren't in a position to give someone a free role because they've been losing games and they need 11 hard-working players out there. You can't afford a luxury if you can't win football matches.
The win at Newcastle was a big result and after a difficult game on Sunday they've got some kinder matches coming up. Before you know it they could click into gear, but if they don't get seven points from their next nine games it's going to be a very, very long season for Spurs.
MERSON'S MAGIC MAN
Jonathan Woodgate - - He and Ledley King will be important if they play. If they can keep Defoe and Crouch quiet then Tottenham have got a chance. Portsmouth won't play free-flowing football and if they stop those two I don't see where a goal is coming from.
PAUL'S PREDICTION
Draw - I would go for 0-0, but with so many good players on a small pitch at Fratton Park I'll say it will be 1-1. There won't be many chances to score, but the forwards on show only need a couple of chances to score a goal.
Wigan v Man City
Don't read too much into Man City's defeat to Brighton because they were without their best two players by a country mile - Robinho and Shaun Wright-Phillips. If they'd been on the pitch it would have been a cricket score.
Those two had a hand in all six goals against Portsmouth and they were phenomenal that day. I saw Robinho playing for Brazil last month and said then that he'd embarrass a few defenders in the Premier League. Portmsouth have got some unbelievable players and he made them look Joe Average with some of the things he was doing. But the supporters will have to be aware that he'll have some bad days and he'll find it difficult in this league at times. Even Diego Maradona had a few bad days so I'm sure Robinho will have them
Are those two good enough to take them into the top four this season? Only if they surround them with another seven Peles. There's a long way to go until they can get to the top four and those two won't be enough to make the difference. But City are certainly a team you'd pay to watch.
I'm surprised they lost in the Carling Cup. Mark Hughes knows they had enough on the pitch to win the game but they're not playing again until Sunday so why not turn up with your proper team? They're not going to win the league so why not take the cup more seriously? They had to play extra-time, penalties and they still lost. They should have taken their best team down there, whipped them off the park and then gone home.
Wonderful Wigan
Wigan have been absolutely brilliant this year. They went 2-0 down in the first 10 minutes of the season against West Ham, but since then they've been outstanding. They should have beaten Chelsea, they slaughtered a Hull side full of confidence and I've been very impressed with how they've played.
They have a big, strong team full of powerful athletes all over the pitch. The one ingredient missing is an out-and-out goalscorer. Amr Zaki has started well, but people know him now and I'm sure managers' team talks will be talking about stopping him. When teams start trying to block him out is when he's got to earn his corn. I just think they need a top goalscorer with Premier League experience to play with Emile Heskey. He's a great player to play alongside and it seems like every time England get a good result, he plays.
Wigan are easily a mid-table team, especially if they can find that goalscorer. They'll be comfortable, they'll upset a few teams and there's no worries about relegation for them this year.
MERSON'S MAGIC MAN
Shaun Wright-Phillips - He's capable of ripping anybody apart on his day. He's full of confidence and the pace he'll bring to this game will be phenomenal.
PAUL'S PREDICTION
Draw - A couple of years ago you'd look at this game and think "Wigan v Man City? I'd rather go and feed the goldfish." But not nowadays - this could be a classic! Both teams make chances and I'm going for a 2-2 draw.
Comments (16)
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Stephen Asante-boakye (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
As a Spurs fan, I am constantly surprised by the predictions of us breaking into the top four. Even if we didn't sell Defoe, Keane and Berbatov, we still would have the same leaky defence that we have always had. Our problem has never been scoring goals (regardless of who's up front), but stopping them at the other end. Our defensive problems are not just limited to the back 4/5. It also is due to the fact we haven't got a single midfielder who can tackle. If you look at any great side, past or present, there is always one person who does the ugly side of football in the middle of the park. Jenas, Huddlestone and Zakora are useless as defensive midfielders, but, as making tackles isn't the "Tottenham Way" we continue to struggle. Watching us against Aston Villa was torture because we couldn't even make more than three passes in a row, without Barry or Reo-coker putting a tackle in. Where as they had the freedom to pick us apart, because we didn't close them down. We need to spend money on some tacklers, like an Essian, a Hargreaves, a Gerrard, an Alonso or an Obi-Mikel. FFS even Fabregas can tackle! Because style means nothing without any substance behind it.
Posted 14:18 27th September 2008
Pete Kenyon (Wigan Athletic fan) says...
Hi Paul. You said that once upon a time Wigan vs Man City would be a game you'd rather not watch, and instead 'feed the goldfish'. Well contrary to what you said, these games tend to be very entertaining, I think the 0-0 at Eastlands last year being the only dire game between the two. If you watch the boxing day clash between the two back in Wigan's first year in the Prem, you'll have witnessed one of the classic games of the last five years, certainly the best game I've ever witnessed at the JJB. Wigan won by one goal in a seven goal thriller that day. We also put another 4 past them the following year at the JJB. So I think your opinion on this fixture was a little naive maybe. This one promises to be a classic too. It will be close, hopefully another seven goal thriller, with Wigan scoring at least 4 of them!
Posted 11:20 27th September 2008
James Stebbins (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Spurs are lucky to be playing Pompey at the moment, and they should see them off quite easily after a scoreless 1st half, much like the Newcastle game. Defoe never scores in the big games and this Sunday should not be any different. My prediction 2-0 to the Tottenham! COYS!
Posted 18:17 26th September 2008
Arnold Gruntfuttock (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Pompey v Spurs will be tedious. I hope that Juande Ramos will finally give David Bently a chance to play on the right - it's the only position that he is effective in... he will deliver plenty of supply to the strikers. Play Aaron Lennon on the left, with Modric and Jenus through the middle. Woody and King in central defence withCorluka and Bale the full backs. Trust me Juande, we need to get going! We have a good record against Pompey in recent years, now it's up to you to keep it going and get us moving!
Posted 17:55 26th September 2008
John Saunders (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
I agree with almost all that has been said...we had no choice but to let keane and berbatov go,i cannot say the same for the defoe sale,it made no sense to let him go. the board and people that are supposed top be in the know at the club could see that it was clear berbatov had aspirations elsewhere,even with all the press on the subject and they still sold the next best option we had! then certain people need to be looking at themselves and wondering if they should be in the job they are in! I do believe we will kick on from our midweek result but its not been a good start.
Posted 14:58 26th September 2008
Stephen Whitehead (Manchester City fan) says...
Great report Paul. If there's one thing that us Citizens have learned over the years, it is to be realistic. So I think people should forgive us if we get a little excited if we all of a sudden become a potential force to be reckoned with. The mid-week defeat to a really hard-working Brighton & Hove was a slight disappointment, but that is all it is. All the biggest clubs have always fielded a weakened team in these games, and at times they lose. No questions are asked when the big 4 lose these matches, and soon enough, no questions will be asked of us when it becomes a big 5! Personally, I think that it will be a good game on Sunday but I think that we may just have a little too much talent for them to grab a draw. At this moment in time, if one of our good players has a bad day, it can be absorbed as we do have a lot of quality around the pitch and some great potential on the bench.
Posted 14:26 26th September 2008
Chris Walker (Manchester City fan) says...
After watching the demolition of Pompey last saturday and being fully entertained with some breath taking football,it seems unbelieveable that the squad are still getting to know each other. It looked as if they had played together for years and the team spirit was there for all to see, granted it was a home game and it remains to be seen if we can produce the same standard away from home and also in the winter months but on the face of it all Mark Hughes has to be praised for getting things right.The game against Chelsea showed us where we need to be and i`m sure that once we have more games under our belt and aquired an even better understanding of each other, games against the so called big four should be very fruitfull.! Take note all just ask Mr. Portsmouth F.C. who couldn`t wait to get back in his taxi home with his 3 other mates!
Posted 13:37 26th September 2008
Rebecca Waters (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
Spurs made a big mistake letting Defoe go but had absolutely no choice when it came to Berbatov and Keane. They both wanted to leave and you can't keep players that don't want to play for you. End of story. Despite the money we got for them (and they were good deals) there is no way that it was a financial decision to let them go and that we could do better without them. such talk is rubbish.
Posted 12:37 26th September 2008
Liam Bockelmann (Manchester City fan) says...
I must agree with the SWP statement, him and robinho have played great together in the last two games. But i dont think it will be a draw Wigan 1-3 City
Posted 12:00 26th September 2008
Gary Orritt (Manchester City fan) says...
Good article, although I think you slightly misguided some of the audience to believe that City are going to be a one-man team. Ireland was considered to be our best player on Sunday and apart from him there were impressive performances from Jo, Zabaleta and Kompany, all of whom are playing with supreme confidence. I think also one of the readers has got Robinho mixed up with a certain Ronaldinho in terms of a party-lifestyle! Robinho has been excellent since he started, as Ballague commented on a recent Revista programme, he looks very happy! SWP and Robinho are obviously great players who have rejuvenated the line-up but the likes of Elano, Petrov, Richards, Hart, Jo, Kompany, Zabaleta, Ireland and Johnson have a massive part to play
Posted 11:54 26th September 2008
Steve Winyard (Manchester United fan) says...
pompy v spurs is goin to be a good match i think, defoe will score plenty of goals against a defence that has been leaking goals of late however the match will be tight, pompy lack natural width that could have exposed the defensive frailties of the full backs (corluka lacks pace and the left hand side of spurs looks defensively weak as bale is a more foward thinking player and the other left back ekotto is still inexperienced in the prem and does not look good enough for spurs) so they will have to make good use of the full backs to get a result. As for spurs well they lack a natural left winger and if lennon plays he likes to cut inside the full back which would cause alot of congestion in the center of the park, however if bentley plays he will offer spurs more natural width and good distribution to pavlychenko. Overall what will decide this game is: - who uses the width of the pitch most affectively - Who will dominate the midfield battle - Who's defence can kope with the foward players - Who will break from midfield to support the strikers In conclusion i predict a 2-1 win for the pompy defoe will be fired up and if he drifts into wide positions he should get some joy from spurs full backs and the left hand side of pompy looks fairly good although James looks like he could drop a few clangers at the moment.
Posted 10:56 26th September 2008
Ranjith Nair (Arsenal fan) says...
Hi Paul, I still cannot imagine spurs selling Berbatov and Keane , what were they thinking. I saw the beat Newcastle, but i dont think you can call it a victory ,considering the state where Newcastle is in. I have never really bothered to see Man City before , but with Robinho its a different story . This is why Pele named Robinho his successor . But top 4 is difficult . I cant imagine a team going in top4 depending on 1 or 2 players. Like you said they can have a bad day , injury etc ...
Posted 08:20 26th September 2008
Andrew Bruce (Manchester City fan) says...
totally agree, SWP, Richards, and Robinho not even on the bench and Elano not brought on until the match almost over? they're young, professional football players making some serious coin, so play them, win the game and get back to Manchester without the stress of another cupless year for us City supporters who get this same story every year, seemingly in every cup. Another Chesterfield type result for us again.
Posted 02:21 26th September 2008
Scott Schaffer (Liverpool fan) says...
Interesting article Paul. I'm a Liverpool fan but thought I'd throw in that I think Defoe is going to be the key man between Spurs-Pompey. Spurs leak goals and I think Defoe will be hungry to put one over his old team. I have been impressed with Amr Zaki so far and am surprised that you haven't given him more credit. He's started the season like a house on fire, has shown a great work rate and good finish. I think he will carry on banging them in. I think Robinho will be either superb or crap, he'll have to watch out about becoming too complacent and cut down on his off the field partying before he will be considered a true star in the league. So I think your pick of Wright Phillips being the key man is spot on, he's been rejuvinated since re-joining City.
Posted 00:24 26th September 2008
Ross Jackson (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
We always get slated for selling these players but if you look at each of the situations our hands were tied I. Defoe was not going to sign a new contract which only had a year left, it was either sell him for a good fee, a very small fee this summer or a free in January, we were not to know Keane was on his way. As regards to Keane and Berbatov they both had their heads turned especially Berbatov who just did not want to know anymore the problem it has created however could have been avoidable, we should have sold him early enough to find a replacement.
Posted 23:23 25th September 2008
Tommy Burton (Tottenham Hotspur fan) says...
As a spurs fan i couldnt agree more with what you have said, we should never of let keane, berbatov and defoe leave the lane within the space of 8 months its rediculus, it left us with BENT, although he had a good pre-season he is yet to prove his credentials in a spurs shirt. If it wasn't for the late signing of campbell spurs would have been looking at playing half the season with only two out and out strikers in their squad, which just isn't enough. We have started appalingly this season and i hope that the midweek win will boost our confidence as we are now unbeaten in three, but still not won a league game yet. We need to hurry up and gel as a team or i could seriously see a repeat of what has happened to leeds.
Posted 18:18 25th September 2008
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