On Monday night, from 19:45, Plymouth and Portsmouth will play a match from the 12th round in League One, the English third league. It’s an interesting game on Home Park, in Plymouth, in which the white-blues start with the first chance to bet. The advantage of one’s own field is somewhat annihilated by the fact that the match will be played without spectators, and the odds are influenced by that.
The two teams are already aiming to qualify for the promotion play-off in the Championship. Portsmouth is in 7th place (goal average 19-10), with 20 points, while Plymouth is in 8th place (goal average 17-13) and has 18 points. The battle is extremely balanced, considering that the team on the 2nd place, Ipswich, has 22 points, being tied with Charlton and Lincoln. The current form of Monday night’s rivals is quite good, as expected.
Plymouth comes after four consecutive victories, two in the championship and two in the cup competitions. Thus, the white-greens passed Doncaster (2-1) and Swindon (4-2) in League One, but also Charlton (1-0) in the English Cup and Newport (3-1) in the Football League Trophy. With a pretty good attack, Plymouth has arguments for a positive result. Portsmouth lost surprisingly to West Ham U21 (0-1) in the Football League Trophy, but the Fratton Park team used more reserves and youngsters, without putting much emphasis on group play.
Instead, Portsmouth eliminated Ipswich from the English Cup (3-2 after extra time), with a goal scored by Raggett in the 11th minute. In the league, Pompey comes after a 3-1 away with Lincoln, a match decided by goals from Marquis (2) and Curtis. In fact, Marquis is also the top scorer of the championship, with 7 successes. Harness has 5 goals, while Jephcott is the best scorer of Plymouth Argyle, also with 5 successes. So, good quality in offensives!
Even if we are talking about two good teams at this level, the last direct duels were poor in goals. The “Under 2.5 goals” bet has been won in 4 of the last 5 matches, and Portsmouth has statistics on its side: two wins and three draws in this interval. The last time, in 2019, was 1-1 on Home Park, both goals being scored in the second half. And this time we are waiting for a slightly lighter game after the break, at excellent odds. The figures also show that Portsmouth is formidable on foreign soil, but Plymouth is very strong at home.
They have scored under 2.5 goals in 4 of the last 5 direct duels, since 2017;
Portsmouth won 1-0 and 3-0 in previous home games with Plymouth;
On Home Park, there were two draws in the last two direct matches, 0-0 and 1-1;
At least three goals have been scored in 3 of Portsmouth’s last 5 matches;
Plymouth has 4 consecutive victories in all competitions, 3 of them with a goal conceded;
Plymouth is the team with the best record on home soil, in League One (16 points);
Portsmouth is the team with the best away record in League One (13 points);
PREDICTION: Portsmouth to win @ 2,05
