A place at Wembley and a chance to get back up into the Championship awaits Portsmouth and Sunderland. The Black Cats would be getting back up to the second tier at the first attempt after relegation last season while for Portsmouth it would be a return to somewhere near where they belong, after dropping down the divisions as far as League Two.

That was a team on a big downward spiral and with money problems that were forcing them to lose many of their top players. Now we have completely the opposite, this looks a team on the up, they are in control of their money and have some talented individuals that they will be able to fend off bid for should they choose to.

Sunderland are still a big club, and huge in comparison to the other teams in League One, this is not their level. However, relegation from the Premier League was a big blow to them, and when they went into the Championship they just couldn’t recover from that. They spent money to try and do well in the Championship, but all that did was make their situation worse. A further relegation followed and someone at the club realised that it was time to put the brakes on and begin to rebuild the club from the bottom up. That has helped them have success this season, but the job is not done yet.

The target for Sunderland this season was promotion, and anything less than that would be seen as a failure. They have a big budget compared to everyone else in the league, and that has to be made to payoff here. They hold a one goal advantage from the first leg, but that would have been the minimum they would have wanted to bring with them to the South coast.

The Sleeping Giants of League One

If you look down the list of clubs currently in League One, then these two are certainly the biggest. Although they have found their way into the league in very different ways, their background is very similar. Both clubs had time in the Premier League when they performed very well, in fact, Portsmouth were FA Cup winners in their prime up in the top flight and played in the Europa League as a result.

However, what these two clubs do is provide a stark reminder for other clubs that handling the financial side of football is vitally important. Over spending caused problems at both of these clubs, and that is the main reason as to why their slide down the leagues started. When that came, they couldn’t stop it, with Sunderland coming down to this level and Portsmouth dropping down one step further to League Two.

The good news for their fans is that they now appear to be far better managed, Portsmouth especially, who have clearly learnt their lesson. Should either of these two get up into the Championship then don’t expect too many fireworks from them, expect them to take the long and slow road. That doesn’t mean they will do poorly though, both have a very solid foundation to work on, and they will of course get huge support from their fans throughout the season.

Only one can go up though this season, and maybe neither will go up, but whatever happens in this game, it is likely that it won’t be too long before we are seeing both of these clubs back in the second tier of English football.

Portsmouth vs Sunderland Betting Tips

This game is finely poised, and in the ideal position for the neutrals who will be watching on Wednesday evening. Sunderland have a one goal advantage as they go away for this game, but is that enough? I don’t think it will be. Portsmouth showed they are more than capable of playing with Sunderland and while Sunderland may have held the advantage from the first leg, this will be a different game. I expect to see Portsmouth on the front foot and attacking Sunderland, and their home crowd will really get behind them.

As far as the 90 minutes goes here, I fancy Portsmouth to have the better of this game, and eventually win it. There is nothing to choose between these two teams but the fact that Portsmouth have to attack and their advantage of having home soil here will help them overcome Sunderland. I’m not too sure what Sunderland will do, will they try to defend their lead, or go out and make certain by scoring? Either way they are in a tricky position that will make them think, whereas for Portsmouth this is a very simple game.

I think Portsmouth win the 90 minute battle, and I also think they do enough to get through to the final at Wembley in just over a week. These are two sleeping giants, two very good teams, and two that are very evenly matched. However, on this occasion it is Portsmouth that I am siding with, I’m, backing them to win this one.

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