Matt Le Tiss says Robbie Keane's sulk shows there is life left in Spurs - as Pompey will find out.
Tottenham v Portsmouth
12.30pm, Saturday, Sky Sports 1
It might sound strange, but I was glad to see Robbie Keane's reaction when he got substituted against Manchester City last week.
Spurs are a side with nothing left to play for this season, but Keane showed he still cares and he's still bothered about going out there and playing for his club. That's a great attitude.
Some people say a captain shouldn't behave like that, but I don't think it's a bad thing.
It's a little bit surprising to see a player like Keane being taken off because he's the captain and he could have helped them win the game. But Juande Ramos is a cup-winning manager so who am I to argue?
In fairness to Ramos, he didn't punish him for sulking and left him in the team against Chelsea - and Keane responded in the right way by scoring a late equaliser.
As a club, Spurs have been very up and down since winning the Carling Cup. They were poor in that game against City and Ramos will have been upset to see his team lose after taking the lead.
But they showed great character against Chelsea in midweek and got a draw when nobody really expected them to - even though the players are just playing for pride and to impress the manager.
Route
Portsmouth on the other hand have got an FA Cup semi-final coming up and I suspect that competition will be their best route into Europe this season.
They're sixth at the moment, but only the top five are guaranteed a place in Europe through the league and it will be a big ask for them to catch Everton. It's not impossible, but making up six points at this stage might be a bit too much for them.
Their players will have half an eye on that semi-final against West Brom. They'll all want to appear at Wembley and they'll be playing for their places in the next few games.
Unfortunately Jermain Defoe isn't allowed to play and that's a shame because he's on fire at the moment.
I'm pleased to see him start his Portsmouth career so well. People were saying for a long time that he needed to get away from Tottenham to play regular football for the sake of his career.
It took a while for him to get away and I'm not sure why it took him so long to make that decision; perhaps he felt an affinity with the club and wanted to give it his best shot.
But I'm delighted it's working out well because he's one of the few natural goalscorers that England has. Pompey have got a lot of good strikers, but Defoe's a predator and he needs to play in every game.
Disappointing
At the moment, I'd say his best partner would be Kanu. I think Milan Baros has been disappointing so far both in terms of his lack of goals and his overall performances.
Baros is only on loan, so at least they've not spent any money on him and I'd be surprised if that move became permanent in the summer.
It looks like Sol Campbell won't be fit to face his former club, which is a blow because he's been instrumental at the heart of their back four. Glen Johnson, Sylvain Distin and Herman Hreidarsson have all looked good but Campbell has held it all together.
On the plus side they've got pretty much the best goalkeeper in the Premier League behind them in David James.
I'd have him in my England team and I reckon the boy's fit enough to play on until the next World Cup. He trains fantastically well, he's very agile and his physique belies his age in many ways.
However, I fear the loss of Campbell could be the blow that means they might not win this game.
Le Tiss Predicts
HOME WIN - I think Pompey will miss Campbell if he doesn't play and I can see Spurs nicking it because the likes of Dimitar Berbatov and Keane will be able to exploit that. I'll go for 2-1.
Matt's Main Man
DIMITAR BERBATOV - He's a different class. He makes the game looks so simple with the way he strolls around nice and casual and his first touch is outstanding. And when he gets a chance he knows exactly where the goal is.
