Portsmouth v Arsenal: FA Cup fifth-round betting preview, free tips & TV details

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Portsmouth v Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 7.45pm Monday

Best bets

C Burgess first goalscorer
0.5pt 100-1 Betfair, Paddy Power
Back this tip with Paddy PowerC Burgess to score
0.5pt 35-1 Betfair, Paddy Power
Back this tip with Paddy Power

Team news

Portsmouth
Bryn Morris is out but he should be Portsmouth's only absentee.

Arsenal
January signing Pablo Mari is now fit and Kieran Tierney is close to a return. Calum Chambers and Sead Kolasinac are out, Shkodran Mustafi is doubtful and Cedric Soares is cup-tied.

Match preview

Arsenal's last remaining hope of silverware this season comes in the FA Cup as Mikel Arteta's shell-shocked outfit aim to bounce back from their painful Europa League exit at the hands of Olympiakos.

On the face of it, a date with a Sky Bet League One team should be a nice way to restore confidence following Thursday's Greek tragedy, but taking on Portsmouth at a hostile Fratton Park can be a unique test of character - something Arsenal have been lacking for some time.

Arsenal's Premier League quality is still expected to shine through for the odds-on favourites, but there may be a few scary moments along the way and Pompey are perfectly placed to take advantage of any defensive nerves in this fifth-round tie.

Set-pieces - not for the first time this season - proved to be Arsenal's downfall in Europe and it also offers Portsmouth a path to goal with robust centre-back Christian Burgess interestingly priced at a whopping 100-1 to score first and 35-1 to notch at any time.

Both Olympiakos goals came from corners, the first direct and the decisive second from a follow-up cross, while it was the same story in their 3-2 win over Everton, who scored twice from dead-ball situations.

Pompey are on the money from crosses with Ronan Curtis and Steve Seddon offering a twin threat with their deadly deliveries and Burgess has profited with four goals in his last 12 appearances.

That included the last goal in Friday's 3-0 win over Rochdale in a game where his initial header was saved before being turned in by Ryan Williams for the opener.

Kenny Jackett's side failed to impress for large parts of that victory and some of the Fratton faithful have been generally disappointed with performances this season despite reaching the FA Cup fifth round, the final of the EFL Trophy and being bang in the Sky Bet League One promotion mix.

Portsmouth are unbeaten in the league at home and have won their last ten there in all competitions but they were totally bamboozled by arch-rivals Southampton in the EFL Cup, losing 4-0.

That does not bode well for tackling Arsenal and the firepower in the visiting ranks, all of whom should appreciate this drop down in class.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and company seem likely to take Arsenal through to the quarter-finals on a night when extra-time and possibly penalties will be used instead of a replay but the Gunners rarely do things easily.

This may not be any different.