Preview: Portsmouth vs Blackburn Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

Portsmouth will look to make it three consecutive games without defeat when they play host to Blackburn Rovers in Saturday's Championship encounter.

Blackburn, meanwhile, are targeting back-to-back wins after getting the better of Millwall last time out.

Match preview

Portsmouth currently occupy 18th place in the Championship table after mustering seven points from their first six matches.

John Mousinho's side have shown signs of encouragement with a four-point return from their last two outings, including maximum spoils from their 2-0 home win against Cardiff City on September 5.

Pompey produced another strong defensive display in last Saturday's goalless draw against Charlton Athletic, which represented their first away clean sheet of the season.

That said, they have failed to score in two of their last three outings, highlighting an area for improvement in their final match before next month's highly anticipated South Coast derby against bitter rivals Southampton at St Mary's.

They can take confidence from the fact they have taken seven points from their last three league games against Blackburn since losing 3-0 at Ewood Park in January 2025.

Six of those points came from their last two home meetings, including a 2-1 success in the most recent encounter at Fratton Park in December.

Blackburn, meanwhile, are sitting in 16th spot after taking eight points from their seven Championship outings.

Tony Mowbray's charges ended a four-game winless league run with a 3-1 victory over Millwall at Ewood Park last Saturday.

Oladapo Afolayan netted a brace alongside Andri Gudjohnsen as Rovers claimed their second win of the Championship season.

Blackburn will now look to record for just the second time in 2026, although that will be a difficult task for a team that has mustered just two points from three league road trips this term (D2, L1).

As a result of their early struggles on the road, they head into the weekend as one of seven teams yet to win a Championship away game this season.

They have also not won at Fratton Park since picking up a 2-1 victory in a League One encounter in February 2018.

Portsmouth Championship form:

Blackburn Rovers Championship form:

Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions):

Team News

Portsmouth's injury list contains Conor Ogilvie, Mark Kosznoszky, Franco Umeh, Keshi Anderson, Luke Brooke-Smith, Josh Murphy and Thomas Waddingham.

Striker Marko Milovanovic faces a race against time to recover from a calf injury that kept him out of the draw against Charlton.

If he is unable to feature, Tyrese Shade could vacate his left-wing position to operate as the centre-forward, which would open the door for Ryan Kavuma-McQueen to come into the side.

As for Rovers, Yuri Ribeiro is unlikely to feature after being forced off with a hamstring issue in the early stages of last Saturday's win over Millwall.

Ribeiro joins an absentee list made up of Scott Wharton, Matty Litherland, Lewis Miller, Augustus Kargbo and Yuki Ohashi.

Ryan Alebiosu, who has been struggling with illness, is hoping to prove his fitness in time for the trip to Fratton Park.

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Bielica; Devlin, Arthur, Shaughnessy, Meghoma; Pack, Shein; Kamara, Segecic, Kavuma-McQueen; Shade

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:

Toth; Alebiosu, Atcheson, Carter, McLoughlin, Pickering; Morishita, Morsy, Montgomery, Afolayan; Cantwell

We say: Portsmouth 2-1 Blackburn Rovers

Portsmouth have won their last two home games against Blackburn, and after beating Cardiff in their most recent outing at Fratton Park, we think they will produce another strong display in front of their supporters to claim a narrow victory.

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