Preview: Portsmouth vs Oxford United - prediction, team news, lineups

Portsmouth and Oxford United will go toe-to-toe in Monday's relegation six-pointer at Fratton Park.

Pompey are hovering just above the Championship relegation zone, while the U's are just one point adrift in 23rd position.

Match preview

After mustering 41 points from 39 games, Portsmouth are nervously looking over their shoulder, with just one point seperating them from Leicester City and Oxford in the battle to remain in the second tier.

John Mousinho's side have gone seven matches without a win since recording back-to-back away wins over Charlton Athletic and Millwall in February (D2, L5).

They did at least end a three-game losing run with a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Friday's away clash against Norwich City, which saw the unfortunate Pelle Mattsson cancel out his own opener with an 84th-minute own goal.

Portsmouth will now return to Fratton Park for a crucial clash against relegation rivals Oxford, which is seen as a must-win game with Pompey set to face three of the top four in their four matches after Monday's fixture.

Having lost each of their last four home games, the south coast side will need to offer a much-improved display on home turf if they are to complete a league double over Oxford.

The main area for improvement is in the final third, considering Pompey have netted just one goal across their previous four outings at Fratton Park.

While Oxford may be a point adrift of safety, they have proven to be a tough team to beat in recent weeks, having lost just one of their previous six matches.

After recording three consecutive victories, the U's played out a 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic, before they fell to a 2-0 defeat away to Southampton.

The U's managed to bounce back with a hard-fought draw in Friday's home game against Hull City, with Cameron Brannagan scoring from the spot to cancel out Mohamed Belloumi's opener.

After making it four consecutive home games without defeat, Matt Bloomfield's side will be keen to replicate that sort of form on the road, having won just one of their previous six away assignments (D2, L3).

The visitors will be concerned by the fact they have failed to win each of their last nine games at Fratton Park since claiming a 1-0 victory in January 2016 (D5, L4).

Bloomfield has at least won his last two managerial meetings with Portsmouth, overseeing a 2-0 victory as Wycombe Wanderers boss in January 2025 and a 1-0 success as Luton head coach in March of the same year.

Portsmouth Championship form:

L D L L L D

Oxford United Championship form:

W W W D L D

Team News

Portsmouth’s injury list features Ebou Adams, Mark Kosznovszky, Josh Murphy, Franco Umeh, Thomas Waddingham, Florian Bianchini and Josh Knight.

Full-back Zak Swanson is set to miss a second consecutive game with a knee problem he sustained in training.

Defender Conor Shaughnessy and midfielder Andre Dozzell are both in contention to start Monday’s relegation six-pointer.

As for the visitors, Brian De Keersmaecker and Tyler Goodrham will miss the rest of the season with ankle and shoulder injuries respectively.

Left-back Jack Currie will have to be assessed by the club’s medical staff after missing the draw with Hull.

Defender Brodie Spencer is pushing for a starting spot after featuring as a half-time substitute on Good Friday.

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Schmid; Devlin, Poole, Shaughnessy, Ogilvie; Pack, Dozzell; Caballero, Chaplin, Alli; Bishop

Oxford United possible starting lineup:

Cumming; Long, Helik, Brown, Spencer; Konak, Brannagan; Mills, Donley, Peart-Harris; Lankshear

We say: Portsmouth 1-1 Oxford United

With just a point seperating the two sides, we expect Monday's fixture to be a close-fought contest, especially considering the stakes in relation to the Championship relegation battle.

Both teams will be desperate to claim all three points, but equally, they will know how costly a loss could be in their respective survival bids, and we think that fear could contribute to a score draw.

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