Portsmouth and Arsenal will go head-to-head in the FA Cup third round at Fratton Park on Sunday afternoon, as the Gunners look to continue their excellent form this season and avoid a big upset.
John Mousinho's side are coming into the game on the back of a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Bristol City and currently sit 21st in the Championship table. Mikel Arteta's side, on the other hand, sit six points clear at the top of the Premier League following their goalless draw with Liverpool in midweek.
Both sides have a number of injury problems to deal with too, and this is how GIVEMESPORT expects the teams to line up as a result.
Portsmouth Team News
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho looks on
Pompey are likely to be without a number of players for this game, including midfielders Mark Kosznovszky, who tore his ACL, and Hayden Matthews, who picked up an ankle injury against Bristol City and is set to miss up to 12 weeks of action.
Forward Colby Bishop is a doubt, and as many as nine other first-team players could be set to miss out. Florian Bianchini (knee), Josh Knight (back), Callum Lang (hamstring), Josh Murphy (hamstring), Connor Ogilvie (knee), Marlon Pack (hamstring), and Thomas Waddingham (thigh) are all out.
Portsmouth Injuries and Suspensions
Player
Colby Bishop
Florian Bianchini
Josh Knight
Callum Lang
Josh Murphy
Connor Ogilvie
Marlon Pack
Thomas Waddingham
Hayden Matthews
Mark Kosznovszky
Portsmouth Predicted XI
portsmouth
Portsmouth Predicted XI: Schmid; Devlin, Shaughnessy, Poole, Swanson; Dozzell, Le Roux; Segecic, Swift, Bowat; Kirk.
Portsmouth Predicted Substitutes: Bursik (GK), Farrell (DEF), Williams (DEF), Swann (MID), Blair (FWD), Chaplin (FWD), Singerr (FWD), Umeh (FWD).
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Arsenal Team News
calafiori
Arsenal are unlikely to see any changes to their squad from the midweek clash with Liverpool, which means Arteta will once again be without Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman. Piero Hincapie suffered a hamstring problem, but it's unclear how serious it was and he could play.
Youngsters like Ethan Nwaneri and Marli Salmon could come into the lineup, while the likes of Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Ben White could also earn some minutes.
Arsenal Injuries and Suspensions
Player
Piero Hincapie
Riccardo Calafiori
Max Dowman
Cristhian Mosquera
Arteta Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Arteta shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
"If everything goes well, I think he's [Havertz] going to be in the squad again in the next few days.
"He trains well, he's increased his load, he's coping with that really well and he will be ready when we can have him.
"Will Calafiori be available? I don't think so. I think that game is going to be too early for him."
Arsenal Predicted XI
Arsenal attacking midfielder Ethan Nwaneri celebrating
Arsenal Predicted XI: Kepa; White, Salmon, Saliba, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Merino, Nwaneri; Madueke, Jesus, Eze.
Arsenal Predicted Substitutes: Setford (GK), Timber (DEF), Gabriel (DEF), Harriman-Annous (MID), Zubimendi (MID), Odegaard (MID), Trossard (FWD), Gyokeres (FWD), Havertz (FWD).
The Gunners are likely to make plenty of changes to rest their squad ahead of a busy schedule, and that could see teenagers Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Marli Salmon handed rare starts.
It means several first-team stars, including £440,000-a-week duo Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres could find themselves on the bench, while Gabriel Jesus could make his first start since returning from a long-term knee injury suffered in the FA Cup 3rd round last season.
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