Portsmouth will be bidding to continue their strong form in the Championship when they welcome Norwich City to Fratton Park on Tuesday night for what is shaping up to be an intriguing affair.
The hosts will enter the contest off the back of a 3-0 victory over Bristol City, which moved them off the bottom of the Championship table, while 10th-placed Norwich lost 3-0 at Queens Park Rangers.
Match preview
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Portsmouth have picked up seven points from their last three Championship matches, beating Preston North End and Bristol City at home either side of a 2-2 draw with Swansea City.
A strong performance on Saturday afternoon saw John Mousinho's side beat Bristol City by three clear goals at Fratton Park, and Pompey will now be aiming to record a third straight home success on Tuesday night.
Portsmouth have moved off the bottom of the Championship table and into 23rd, with their record after 17 matches standing at three wins, seven draws and seven defeats, which has brought them 16 points.
Pompey secured a return to the Championship by winning League One last season, and any spot higher than 22nd would be considered a successful campaign for the club, as they bid to consolidate in the second tier.
Tuesday's contest will actually be the first league meeting between the two sides since May 2011, when Norwich ran out 1-0 winners at Fratton Park in the Championship.
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Norwich thumped Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town in back-to-back home matches at the end of November, but they suffered a 3-0 defeat to QPR at Loftus Road on Saturday afternoon.
The Canaries have a record of six wins, seven draws and six defeats from their 19 league matches this season, which has left them in 10th spot in the table, boasting 25 points.
Johannes Hoff Thorup's side are only six points off the playoff spots at this stage of the campaign, but they will surely need to improve defensively in order to stand any chance of challenging for promotion this term.
Indeed, Norwich have conceded 30 times in their 19 league matches this season, which is the joint-third worst record in the Championship behind Plymouth and Luton, who have shipped 38 and 34 respectively.
The Canaries have only managed to win two of their away matches in the Championship in 2024-25, but Portsmouth also only have two wins in front of their own fans in the second tier this term.
Team News
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Portsmouth have not reported any fresh injury issues from their clash with Bristol City on Saturday, but head coach Mousinho will not be able to name an unchanged side, as Andre Dozzell is suspended, having picked up a milestone yellow card last time out.
Owen Moxon is expected to be Dozzell's replacement, but it may otherwise be the same team that took to the first whistle against Bristol City, with leading goalscorer Callum Lang featuring in the number 10 spot.
Lang has five goals in 15 appearances this season, while there will be another start out wide for Josh Murphy, who has contributed four goals and four assists in 13 outings for the club during the 2024-25 campaign.
Kusini Yengi, Mark O'Mahony, Jordan Williams, Will Norris, Jacob Farrell, Conor Shaughnessy and Ibane Bowat remain on the sidelines for the home team due to injury problems.
As for Norwich, Liam Gibbs, Gabe Forsyth and Josh Sargent are missing due to injury issues.
Head coach Thorup is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the poor display at QPR, but there could be a change at left-back on Tuesday, with Ben Chrisene potentially coming in for Kellen Fisher.
Borja Sainz has been in outstanding form this season, scoring 16 goals in 21 appearances in all competitions, and the 23-year-old will continue in the final third of the field, while Ante Crnac is set to lead the line.
Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Schmid; Devlin, Poole, Pack, Ogilvie; Moxon, Potts; Ritchie, Lang, Murphy; Bishop
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Stacey, Duffy, Doyle, Chrisene; Nunez, McLean, Ben Slimane; Marcondes, Crmac, Sainz
We say: Portsmouth 1-1 Norwich City
There has not been a draw between these two sides since a Premier League clash in January 2005, but we can see the points being shared on Tuesday. Portsmouth will enter the match in the stronger form, but Norwich are certainly good enough to claim a point at Fratton Park.
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Matt Law
