Portsmouth travel to St Andrew’s on Saturday (3pm) seeking to extend their superior away record after suffering back-to-back home defeats. John Mousinho’s side have tasted defeat just once on their travels this campaign.
The Blues await at St Andrew’s, having dropped to 15th in the Championship table despite their summer spending spree. Chris Davies’ men sit two points clear of the visitors but have managed only one victory from their last six fixtures.
Birmingham arrived in the second tier as League One champions in commanding fashion, amassing a record 111 points—19 ahead of second-placed Wrexham. Their promotion was backed by significant investment, including a league-record fee exceeding £10 million for Fulham striker Jay Stansfield. Further summer additions included Kyōgo Furuhashi and Demarai Gray.
Pompey’s recent struggles at Fratton Park saw losses to Coventry and Stoke, making Saturday’s away fixture an opportunity to capitalise on their stronger road form.
The sides last met in August 2019 during a Carabao Cup tie on the south coast, where Ellis Harrison’s double and Ben Close’s goal secured a comfortable 3-0 triumph for Pompey. Their most recent league encounters came during the 2011/12 Championship season—a 1-0 defeat at St Andrew’s preceded a thrilling 4-1 home victory featuring strikes from Chris Maguire, David Norris, Kelvin Etuhu and Márkó Futács.
Team News
Mousinho will be without Callum Lang (hamstring), Nicolas Schmid (hand), Adrian Segečić (ankle), Conor Shaughnessy (hamstring), Franco Umeh (hamstring) and Thomas Waddingham (thigh).
Josh Murphy may earn a starting berth after featuring as a substitute against Stoke, whilst John Swift returns from suspension. Harvey Blair (hamstring) and Jacob Farrell (groin) have resumed training but remain unavailable for selection.
Birmingham’s absentees include Lee Buchanan (knee), Ethan Laird (hamstring), Willum Willumson (undisclosed) and Scott Wright (knee).
Match Statistics
Overall Record
- Portsmouth: 30 victories
- Birmingham: 42 victories
- Draws: 25
At St Andrew’s
- Portsmouth: 11 victories
- Birmingham: 30 victories
- Draws: 9
Previous Away Fixture
Birmingham 1 (Redmond) Portsmouth 0
Championship, 7 February 2012
Matchday Information
Portsmouth’s 2,000-ticket allocation has sold out, with no tickets available on matchday. Saturday’s fixture serves as Birmingham’s designated Remembrance match.
Match Officials
- Referee: Andrew Kitchen
- Assistants: Shaun Hudson, Paul Hodskinson
- Fourth Official: Leigh Doughty
Kitchen recently officiated Pompey’s 2-1 loss at Ipswich last month, issuing three yellow cards. He has shown 26 cautions across 10 matches this season without producing a red card.
Broadcasting Details
International supporters can stream the match live via Pompey+ (Paramount+ in the USA) through subscription or individual match pass purchase.
George Wedlake will host the Fratton Park studio coverage alongside Paul Hardyman and Mark Kelly. Fans can contribute messages and voicenotes to the Pompey+ WhatsApp channel at +44 7457 413694.
Andrew Moon and Guy Whittingham provide audio commentary for subscribers and match pass holders. Local fans can tune into BBC Radio Solent or Express FM.
Championship Fixtures
Friday
- Wrexham v Coventry (8pm)
Saturday, 12.30pm
- Leicester v Blackburn
- Norwich v Hull
- West Brom v Sheffield Wednesday
Saturday, 3pm
- Charlton v Swansea
- Oxford v Millwall
- QPR v Ipswich
- Sheffield United v Derby
- Southampton v Preston
- Stoke v Bristol City
- Watford v Middlesbrough
