Chris Sutton has made his predictions ahead of Arsenal vs Portsmouth, and the other FA Cup third round games.
Arsenal are turning their attention away from the Premier League this weekend, as it is a special weekend in the English football calendar. It’s FA Cup third round weekend, which is when every Premier League team enters the fray.
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The Gunners got a favourable draw on paper, as they make the trip South to play against Championship side Portsmouth, who are 21st in the second division under John Mousinho this season.
However, the fixture is one of those potential upsets that make the FA Cup third round so special. Mikel Arteta will hope that they can squash the chance of upset early in the game at Fratton Park.
Sutton predicts comfortable Arsenal win
Ahead of the game on Sunday, former Premier League striker Chris Sutton has made his FA Cup third round predictions for BBC Sport, and he believes that Arsenal will win 3-0 despite rotating their squad for the match.
He said: “Arsenal will definitely make changes here, but it won’t make any difference. Portsmouth are in trouble at the bottom of the Championship and they look short of what is required there, let alone against the Premier League leaders – or even their reserves.”
Arsenal could see youngsters Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri, and potentially Marli Salmon appear and get some valuable experience in the first team, as all three have lacked experience this season.
Who will the Gunners be without?
In terms of Arsenal players who won’t make the game on Sunday, there are just three names who appear on the Gunners’ injury list.
Firstly, Max Dowman is expected to be out until next month, which is a shame, as he would have likely been in line to start this game against Portsmouth.
Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera will both miss the game too, they are dealing with shorter term injuries, but still aren’t expected to return until mid January.
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