Sports Blog 05/01/2017: League Two Preview – Doncaster vs Portsmouth, Thursday 5th January 2017

Can Portsmouth keep themselves in the running for automatic promotion with a win over League Two leaders Doncaster, at 7.45pm on Sky Sports 1?

After losing out in the play-offs last season Portsmouth appear to be trying to avoid that heartache this time around, lurking just outside the top 3 with a 4 points deficit to overcome if they want to leapfrog Carlisle. December saw the club go unbeaten, with victories against Grimsby and Newport joined by draws against Hartlepool and Yeovil. That form extended into the New Year at the start of the week, with Portsmouth kicking off the New Year with a narrow 1-0 win over Luton.



Though they arguably lack a star striker, having the joint stingiest defence in the league, with just 22 goals conceded this season, has allowed them to keep up the chase at the top. Not that they are completely lacking in options going forwards; Gary Roberts, who missed a late penalty on Monday, has 7 goals and a Super Mega PGM of 16-20, while Carl Baker (on 6) is at 13-17 and Conor Chaplin (on 5) is at 20-24.

Doncaster, meanwhile, have so far done a good job at trying to ensure they bounce straight back into League One after being relegated last season. The Rovers are 1 point above Plymouth in 1st place, and will be looking to put some more distance between them and their promotion rivals on Thursday after dropping points 3 points to the Pilgrims in December. Since then Doncaster have ground out a string of 1-0 wins (and a 1-1 draw), form that fails to reflect the fact they are the top scoring club in the league with 47 goals.

Nearly a quarter of that tally has come from John Marquis, the former Portsmouth-loanee’s 11 goals leaving him with a Super Mega PGM of 19-23. Ahead of him spread-wise , however, are Liam Mandeville and Andy Williams, who sit at 24-29 and 21-26 after scoring 9 and 8 goals respectively.

When these 2 sides met back in October Donny walked away from Fratton Park with all 3 points. This time, however, Pompey have the advantage, with Spreadex offering a Portsmouth/Doncaster (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0-0.2 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.35-2.55.