This League Two clash sees two coastal teams battling for promotion go head-to-head as automatic hopefuls Portsmouth host play-off chasers Grimsby Town.
After two games without victory toward the back end of February and the beginning of March, Portsmouth have bounced back with two consecutive victories, boosting them up into 3rd and into the automatic promotion spots – four points clear of Stevenage in 4th.
Defensive solidity has been the key to Pompey’s successful season so far with just 31 goals conceded in 36 games as well has having the most clean sheets in the division – 16. They have also kept clean sheets in both of those aforementioned recent victories.
Paul Cook’s side may not sit too high in the goalscoring charts but their record of 55 so far this campaign is very respectable. Furthermore, they have scored six in their last two games.
The two consecutive games which Portsmouth failed to win, which I mentioned earlier, both came at home and so Pompey will be looking to reinvigorate their home form by beating Grimsby. However, it is worth noting that Portsmouth have actually been better on their travels than they have at Fratton Park this season – 32 points away compared to 30 at home.
Grimsby are on a rather inconsistent run at the moment with their last five results reading W, L, W, L, W. They may sit down in 13th place in League Two but it is certainly worth mentioning that they are only four points behind Exeter City in that fourth and final play-off spot.
Much like Portsmouth, the Mariners have been pretty solid at the back and have the second-best clean sheet rate in the division with 15 in 36 games – 42%. They have also kept clean sheets in four of their last six matches in League Two. They showed in their 3-0 drubbing of Leyton Orient at the weekend that they do have firepower going forward, despite selling forward Omar Bogle in January. However, whether this will be enough to push them up the table is questionable.
Marcus Bignot’s side have been poor on their travels recently and that win against Orient was their first away from Blundell Park in four attempts. Although it came against a side who look likely to be relegated, that victory should still be a confidence booster.
With both of these sides being good at the back – less than three goals in eight of their last ten home and away combined – it’s unlikely that this will be a classic full of goals. ‘Under 2.5 Goals’ is worth being on at 11/10. This bet returned a winner in the reverse fixture as well as in all of Portsmouth’s last five matches at Fratton Park.
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