Live Football

Portsmouth will host Liverpool in the first kickoff of the weekend on Saturday in the Barclay's Premier League. Pompey returns home after superb, albeit disappointing, trip to London in the midweek which saw Portsmouth push league leading Chelsea to the brink before falling in defeat. Liverpool meanwhile used a midweek victory over Wigan Athletic to push back into contention for a European spot for the first time in over a month. Kickoff between the two is set for 12:45 at Fratton Park in Portsmouth, England. Game is live from Sky Sports 1 TV channel.

Portsmouth, the league's bottom club, was in London on Wednesday evening to face league leading Chelsea. The first half went as expected with the Blues dominating the flow of the game and enjoying the lion's share of good opportunities on goal. Portsmouth's defence was breached by Nicolas Anelka in the 22nd minute, capping a strong opening half hour from the home side. Pompey was able to give Chelsea a scare in the second half though as Frederic Piquionne equalised in the 50th minute from a dead ball scenario. Luck was not on Portsmouth's side though as Branislav Ivanovic was hauled down by Marc Wilson in the box in the 78th minute, earning the Blues a penalty. Frank Lampard stepped up and smashed home the winner in the 79th minute to hand Portsmouth a 2-1 defeat. Liverpool was at home in the midweek hosting an inconsistent Wigan Athletic side that is struggling to stay near midtable in the Premier League. David Ngog gave the Reds an early lead at home, scoring in the ninth minute and Fernando Torres doubled Liverpool's lead with a goal in the 78th minute. Charles N'Zogbia would grab a late consolation goal for the visiting Latics, but it was too late to affect the outcome of the match as Liverpool held on for the 2-1 victory.

Liverpool's victory over Wigan was just its second victory in the Premier League since defeating Manchester United 2-0 back on 25 October. Wednesday evening's victory was also the first time the Reds have won at Anfield since the same defeat of Manchester United in late October, ending a two match losing streak at home in all competitions. Portsmouth manager Avram Grant saw many positives from his side despite their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Chelsea. Jamie O'Hara, Kevin-Prince Boateng, and Frederic Piquionne were the driving force for Pompey all night and created plenty of chances for Portsmouth to have earned a point at Stamford Bridge.

Both sides will be looking for maximum points when they clash on Saturday. Liverpool has climbed to sixth place in the league table and will need a victory to keep their spot and apply pressure to the clubs above them in the standings. While solid performances are a morale boost, points are more important. Portsmouth remains three points below 19th place West Ham United and five points behind Wolverhampton, if Pompey is to have any hope of climbing out of the cellar they need to collect points every time they step on the pitch.