Portsmouth vs Arsenal 03/02/20

3 March 2020

Arsenal travel to Fratton Park to take on Portsmouth in the FA Cup round of 16 that will be their first head-to-head meeting since 2009.

The hosts have lost all four of their previous H2Hs, three of which produced a three-goal margin, with the last two coming via the same 4-1 scoreline. Currently competing in the League One, Portsmouth have picked up 13 wins in their past 15 competitive outings (L2), scoring precisely three goals per match in the last three successes. Furthermore, Kenny Jacket’s men have won 16 of their last 19 home games in all competitions (D3), including the last ten. Half of those ten successes (five) yielded a clean sheet, while six produced a winning margin of at least two goals. Strong second-half performers, the Pompey have netted 62.75% (32) of the 51 home goals scored after the break.

Meanwhile, the visitors go into this encounter on the back of a shock 2-1 extra-time defeat to Olympiacos at home that eliminated them from the UEFA Europa League. That failure has also brought Arsenal’s ten-game unbeaten run in all competitions to a halt (W6, D4), and it was also only the second time since the turn of the year that the Londoners failed to find the net (inside 90 minutes). Although unbeaten in ten consecutive road trips, Mikel Arteta’s men have secured just three wins in that stretch (D7), with five of their seven previous away fixtures featuring under 2.5 goals. The Gunners have, however, improved defensively in the recent period, conceding over 1.5 match goals only twice in their last 11 outings.