‘Big club, proud club, noisy club’: Southampton favourite’s Portsmouth call as Sky Sports EFL expert weighs up Leicester City showdown
The former Leeds United and Nottingham Forest man is now across EFL matters in his role with Sky Sports. He is full of praise for John Mousinho and Pompey as he weighs up their clash with Leicester City.
Pompey can go to Leicester City with the pressure off as they tackle as they aim for Championship consolidation.
But victory at the King Power Stadium on Saturday night will have the Blues ‘knocking on the door’ of the second-tier play-off places.
Sky Sports expert on Pompey: ‘Noisy club who always travel well’.
That’s the call of Sky Sports’ EFL expert, David Prutton, as he saluted the work of John Mousinho at Fratton Park and his side’s upwardly mobile start to the campaign.
Pompey return to action after the international break this weekend, buoyed by inflicting a first league defeat of the season on Middlesbrough as they were knocked off top spot. That leaves Mousinho’s men nicely tucked in 14th place in a Championship table which remains very congested at this relatively early stage with nine games played.
Pompey take on a Leicester side in third place, three points off leaders Coventry City, with the relegated Premier League outfit having designs on bouncing back to the top flight at the first attempt under Marti Cifuentes. Former Southampton favourite Prutton sees it as a very different remit for Mousinho, however, in his side’s second season at the level after winning the League One title.
Leicester ended a run of four draws against Swansea City last time out, to see both teams coming into the game with confidence. Prutton feels that sets the Sky Sports-televised clash up nicely for an encounter he feels will deliver.
The former Nottingham Forest and Leeds United man was full of praise for Pompey’s standing and knows they will be well backed on the Foxes’ territory, but sees it being an encounter the home side will edge.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Essential EFL podcast, Prutton said:‘ Both had good victories into the international break.
‘I’m a big fan of John Mousinho’s, we’re always going to sing his praises given what his first port of call is for Pompey - consolidation - and building on that.
Prutton ‘a big fan’ of Pompey boss
‘Leicester quite clearly have aspirations of a bounce back to the Premier League and that win against Swansea, off the back of an absolute drawfest, shows what they’re capable of, with ‘Pompey putting an end to that winless run.
‘So it’s nicely poised, Pompey don’t go there under any pressure at all and they don’t go there with any fear either. For a little Saturday night amuse-bouche, it’s decent.
‘It’s not damning them (Pompey) with faint praise to say where they would be aiming for in the division. But given the fact they find themselves just under halfway, a win potentially takes them into the top half and knocking on the door of the top six given potential results around them.
‘It’s a big football club, a proud football club, and a noisy football club who always travel well. It will be a cracking game. I’m going to go for Leicester 2 Pompey 1.’