Championship | Gameweek 20

Dec 10, 2024 at 7.45pm UK

Fratton Park

Portsmouthvs.Norwich

Match preview

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.

John Mousinho's side had a strong showing on Saturday afternoon, beating Bristol City by three clear goals at Fratton Park. Pompey will now be aiming to record a third straight home success on Tuesday night.

Portsmouth have moved up from the bottom of the Championship table to 23rd. After 17 matches, their record stands at three wins, seven draws and seven defeats, which has brought them 16 points.

Pompey got back into the Championship by winning League One last season, so anything above 22nd would be a good result for the club as they try to consolidate in the second tier.

Tuesday's game will actually be the first league meeting between the two sides since May 2011, when Norwich beat Portsmouth 1-0 at Fratton Park in the Championship.

Norwich had a great end to November, beating Plymouth Argyle and Luton Town in back-to-back home matches. However, they had a setback on Saturday afternoon with a 3-0 defeat to QPR at Loftus Road.

The Canaries have a record of six wins, seven draws and six losses from their 19 league matches this season, which has left them in 10th place in the table with 25 points.

It's a tight race at the moment, with just six points between Hoff Thorup's side and the playoff spots. To stand any chance of challenging for promotion this term, they'll need to improve defensively.

Norwich have conceded 30 times in their 19 league matches this season, which is joint-third worst 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 this season, and Portsmouth have only won two at home too.

Recent Performance

Portsmouth Championship form:LDLWDW

Norwich City Championship form:LLDWWL

Team News

Portsmouth haven't reported any new injuries from their match against Bristol City on Saturday, but head coach Mousinho won't be able to name an unchanged side, as Andre Dozzell is suspended, having picked up a yellow card last time out.

It looks like Owen Moxon will be Dozzell's replacement, but it might be the same team that started against Bristol City. Leading goalscorer Callum Lang will probably play in the number 10 spot.

Lang has scored five goals in 15 appearances this season, while Josh Murphy will be another starter out wide. He's 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 are still out with injury problems for the home team.

Norwich will be without Liam Gibbs, Gabe Forsyth and Josh Sargent due to injury.

It looks like Thorup won't be making any changes to the team following the poor performance at QPR. However, there might be a change at left-back on Tuesday, with Chrisene potentially coming in for Fisher.

Borja Sainz has been absolutely on fire this season, netting 16 goals in 21 appearances across all competitions. The 23-year-old will continue to operate in the final third of the field, while Ante Crnac is set to lead the line.

Possible starting lineup

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