Portsmouth v Aston Villa Live

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Rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table, South Coast club Portsmouth will have a welcome break from the pressures of the Premier League as they host Aston Villa at Fratton Park in the quarter finals of the League Cup. Catch all the action on your PC with Ole Ole Football.

Portsmouth booked their place in the last eight with a comfortable 4-0 win over Stoke City. But this tie against Aston Villa will not be as comfortable, at least on paper. Martin O’Neill’s boys are fifth in the table and new Pompey boss Avram Grant will have to come up with something special to halt the Villans’ run.

Grant will be without the services of David James, Linvoy Primus, Papa Bouba Diop and Steve Finnan for the game. Asmir Begovic started against Manchester United and should continue to deputize for James in goal. With the game being at home and Pompey having nothing to lose, they will probably go in with an attacking formation. Dindane, Piquionne, Yebda and Boateng will spearhead Pompey’s attack.

Aston Villa keeper Brad Guzan saved three penalties to secure Aston Villa’s passage into the quarter finals. It will be interesting to see if O’Neill continues to select him ahead of the first choice goalkeeper Brad Friedel. Villa were lucky to escape with a draw at the weekend against Tottenham Hotspur and would need a more convincing performance against Portsmouth at home, who would be buoyed by the home support.

Villa are a bit short at the back. James Collins, Steven Warnock and Curtis Davies are all sidelined with injury. The absence of these first teamers could see Habib Beye slot in at centre defence alongside Richard Dunne. Pompey should look to exploit the defensive gaps at the back, but at the same time be wary of the threat possessed by Villa forwards Gabriel Agbonlahor and John Carew.

Will Aston Villa power their way into the last four? Or will Pompey’s fans have something to cheer for? Watch the game on Ole Ole Football to find out.