Bagging The Baggies

Last updated : 10 March 2008 By Jim Bonner
As you might already know, Portsmouth will play West Bromwich Albion at Wembley in the FA Cup Semi-Final.

There is some affection between the two sets of fans after that surreal day at The Hawthorns after we were cheering the Baggies to beat us as they survived and Southampton were relegated.

I'm sure all niceties will be banished when the two teams meet at Wembley and it'll be interesting to see how Dean Kiely and Kanu will react to playing against their former clubs.

On paper this was probably the toughest draw we could have got but if you think about it, we've played better this season against teams that play good football and come to have a go at us.

Albion have already played at the new Wembley and that was a defeat to Derby County in last season's Championship Play-Off Final. Tony Mowbray is sure to have promotion to the Premier League as his top priority so hopefully we could captialice on that.

Whilst we will be wary of the attacking threat that Mowbray's side will possess, they are always vulnerable to letting in a goal or two or three. Our 4-5-1 formation could be perfect for beating West Brom.

Whatever happens, we will be favourites and there can be no excuses for not beating a team in a lower league than us. But then stranger things have happened already in the cup and we don't want to fall victims to its magic.