Matt Le Tissier reckons it will be too close to call when Portsmouth host Man City in a surprise top-of-the-table clash.
Portsmouth v Man City
3.30pm, Sunday, Sky Sports 1
Who'd have thought Portsmouth v Man City would turn out to be a top-of-the-table clash with a third of the season gone? It's third against fifth and nobody would have predicted that at the start of the campaign.
Portsmouth are the surprise package of the season without question. They've got a decent squad down there and in August I'd have put them in the mid-table bracket or possibly a bit higher.
But they've had some good away wins in the last few weeks, beating Wigan by a couple of goals before that fantastic 4-1 result at Newcastle last week and Harry Redknapp has taken everyone by surprise.
The most impressive thing when you look at the fixtures is that they've already played a lot of the big boys. They did well against the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool and got themselves off to a half-decent start and now they are reaping the rewards from that.
They are probably the form team in the league and they've got the Premier League's top scorer at the moment. Who'd have thought Benjani would be in that position after a dozen games? It's quite incredible for someone who couldn't hit a barn door from four yards last year.
Harry obviously had some belief in him because he kept playing him when he wasn't knocking the goals in. He obviously saw something there that the rest of us didn't and he's now being rewarded.
Disappear
Harry has clearly bought some good players and some of the African boys are doing really well for him. It could be interesting to see how they cope in January when they disappear for a few weeks to play in the African Nations Cup. At the moment, they've got pace in the team and they are a big strong unit, but they still play some good football.
They are sat in fifth place right now and if you told Harry he'd be sat there after 38 games he'd snap your hands off. But I'd expect them to finish in the top eight this season and be challenging for Europe, especially after the start they've had and the games they've already played.
City have also surprised me so far. I didn't expect them to struggle with the money they've spent and the players they've bought in, but I certainly wasn't prepared for them to be pushing Man United and Arsenal so close right now. They've bounced back from getting smashed 6-0 by Chelsea quite well, Sven's got them playing some good stuff and they are winning at home, which is something they couldn't do last season.
The away form has not been so great and they haven't won on the road since beating West Ham on the opening day. I think there's a different mentality when you go away in the Premier League and it will take the foreign lads at City a little while to understand that.
They've certainly got enough quality there to keep up their challenge for Europe, though I'd be surprised if they get in the Champions League places. I don't think they'll slip too far, but I don't think they'll finish third.
Pace to burn
Micah Richards coming back would be a big boost for them because the injury looked quite bad and we thought he might be out for a while. It would be fantastic news for them if he could return so quickly because he's their rock at the back. Sometimes he needs his pace to get himself out of trouble, but he's got pace to burn, he's big and strong and I certainly wouldn't fancy playing against him.
Michael Johnson is injured, which is a shame because he's been good for them this season. He's a willing runner from midfield with good skills and he's set up a couple of useful goals for them as well. He will be missed, but they've got a pretty big squad at City so they should be able to cover for him.
I was amused to hear about Stephen Ireland's Superman pants celebration against Sunderland. I'm glad the FA didn't punish him because it's quite funny and it's only right they didn't make an example of him. There's a lack of characters in the game today and anything that brightens people's evenings up is good in my opinion.
I don't want to make light of anything that has happened to him of late, but it has certainly been a topsy-turvy season for him. There is no doubt that the boy has got some ability - he's still young, he's still learning and he's getting better all the time. All things are looking good for City right now.
Le Tiss predicts
DRAW - I've backed Portsmouth to lose their last two away games on my coupon and they've stuffed me up, so I'm going to sit on the fence here and go for a draw. I don't like going for 0-0 and I think there will be goals, so I'll go for a decent 2-2.
Matt's Main Man
ELANO - Elano has looked excellent this season. He sees a pass and has scored some cracking goals. He's very much in my mould in that he doesn't like to defend too much, but if you're doing the business at the other end then there are 10 other players to do that for you.
