EPL: Portsmouth vs Manchester United

Dogbert

Okay here we go...

Portsmouth vs Manchester United

The match is on Thursday, Aug-16 on ESPN at 00:15 IST.

Defending champions Manchester United face a trip to Portsmouth in the second match of the new campaign on Wednesday. United will be looking for the best possible start to the campaign in order to be ahead of other title contenders.

Having faced Reading in the first match, United will be looking for a comfortable victory against Portsmouth and put pressure on Chelsea, who will be playing on the same day. While United have confirmed the signing of Carlos Tevez, Alex Ferguson has revealed that Tevez will not be playing any competitive games for United until the match against Manchester City on August 19.

Portsmouth opened their account in the new season with a 2-2 draw against Derby County on Saturday. Harry Redknapp's side went behind early on in the game with an exquisite volley from Matt Oakley. However the visitors drew level through Benjani Mwaruwari and had taken the lead with just seven minute remaining. However they were unable to hold on to the lead and ended the game sharing the points with the Premiership new boys.

Redknapp will be worried that his new look team has not yet settled down and has admitted that his team will be underdogs against the league champions. And with the team facing Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool by the end of September, Redknapp will be looking to assert his team's dominance during the mid season. Redknapp will also be hoping to get something out of the game, having beaten United in the fixture last season.

Lets see how the things go in the match!