Premier League Betting: Portsmouth vs. Wigan Athletic

Portsmouth are proud owners of the bottom table spot with no signs of relinquishing their lowly position anytime soon. Portsmouth have blundered their way through ten cycles hauling a striking 4 points. Finally, with no end in sight for their Premier League woes, didn’t they just go and break the deadlock by beating Stoke City 4:0 in Carling League Cup action to advance into the quarterfinals. Go figure.

Wigan Athletic, meanwhile, are after handing Burnley their first home defeat on the season, beating the Clarets 3:1 at Turf Moor. Wigan are showing marked improvement on form lately and they will hope to continue the positive trend at the expense of a curious Portsmouth side.

Soccer Betting Odds:

Portsmouth pk  -130   +145   2½  O +115   U -135  Draw   +225    
Wigan Athletic  pk  +110   +180  2½  O +115   U -135  Draw   +225

Match Time: 11:00 am Eastern Time Saturday October 31, 2009
Venue: Fratton Park

Soccer Betting Analysis:  The comprehensive victory over Stoke City in Carling League Cup action can be taken as a positive sign for Portsmouth that things might be slowly turning around for them. They just have to get things going in Premier League. Paul Hart will be expecting his men to build on that result against Wigan Athletic and play for all three points.

Wigan Athletic are slowly climbing back up the table after a slow start on the season. The Lactics are under new management this season with Roberto Martinez at the helm and more likely than not they needed time to adjust to his game. With each passing game, they are getting better and that is a positive sign for Wigan and their fans. Wigan are now back in the top half of the table, in tenth spot on 13 points. They enter this match with little pressure.

Soccer Betting Verdict: Until Portsmouth can show marked improvement in their league campaign soccer bettors are going to be understandably wary of any encouraging signs and avoid betting on them to win outright. With BetUS soccer betting odds at +145, Portsmouth are a tempting play considering the big win over Stoke City but we are yet to see them string together any sort of positive run. Wigan to take all three points seems to be the sound play, especially when Portsmouth’s poor league form is taken into consideration. Therefore, Wigan at +185 is good bank for the buck. Yet, it wouldn’t knock a bother out of Wigan if they shared in the spoils as that would still see them head in the right direction. That is the direction the betting trend on this match is taking, a draw.

Soccer Free Picks: Draw +225 | Over 2.5 +115