Preview: Portsmouth vs Sheffield Wednesday - prediction, team news, lineups

Portsmouth will look to extend their three-game unbeaten run when they welcome Sheffield Wednesday to Fratton Park for Saturday's Championship fixture.

The hosts are sitting in ninth place with eight points to their name, while the Owls are down in 23rd spot after mustering just one point in the opening stages of the season.

Match preview

Portsmouth will be encouraged by the start that they have made to their second successive Championship campaign, having lost just one of their opening five league matches (W2, D2).

John Mousinho's side have gone three games without defeat since they lost 2-1 to Norwich City on August 16, kicking off their unbeaten run with a 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion, before emerging 1-0 victors in their most recent home outing against Preston North End.

Pompey then gave a good account of themselves in the first South-coast derby in six years, offering the greater threat in the first period at St Mary's, before standing strong against Southampton in the second period to ensure that the contest finished in a goalless draw.

Having conceded just three goals in five matches, Portsmouth currently boast the joint-best defensive record along with Stoke City and Middlesbrough.

In fact, Portsmouth have the chance to record three consecutive clean sheets in the Championship for the first time since a run of six straight shutouts from February to March 2011.

Given Sheffield Wednesday's struggles, Pompey will enter Saturday's contest as the favourites, but claiming all three points may be easier said than done, considering that they have not beaten the Owls at Fratton Park since October 2000.

Sheffield Wednesday's off-field issues have left Henrik Pedersen with a threadbare squad for the 2025-26 campaign, so it is unsurprising that they have made a disappointing start to the Championship season.

The Owls have lost four of their opening five league matches, including back-to-back home defeats in their last two Championship outings against Swansea City and Bristol City.

Unfortunately for the Owls, they followed last Saturday's 3-0 loss against the Robins with a narrow 1-0 defeat in Tuesday's clash against League Two Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup third round.

They are now preparing to make their first away trip since fighting back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw in last month's meeting with newly-promoted Wrexham.

With Wednesday short on confidence, they can draw inspiration from the fact that they have avoided defeat in their previous seven competitive games against Portsmouth (D3, L4).

They have also picked up maximum points from their last two visits to Fratton Park, including a 2-1 victory in their most recent away clash in October 2024.

Portsmouth Championship form:

W L D W D

Portsmouth form (all competitions):

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Sheffield Wednesday Championship form:

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Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions):

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Team News

Portsmouth will be without first-choice goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid, who will be out for eight to 12 weeks after he fractured a bone in his right hand in a collision with teammate Connor Ogilvie in Sunday’s derby clash.

Ogilvie is a doubt for Saturday’s home fixture, while Harvey Blair and Callum Lang are both working on their respective recoveries from hamstring injuries.

Ben Killip could get the nod over Josef Bursik in Schmid’s absence, and Jordan Williams is waiting in the wings to deputise at left-back if Ogilvie fails to recover in time.

As for Sheffield Wednesday, they remain without the services of Pierce Charles, Di’Shon Bernard, Nathaniel Chalobah, Guilherme Siqueira and Bruno Fernandes.

Reece Johnson and Olaf Kobacki have also been ruled out after the pair picked up injuries in Tuesday's EFL Cup defeat to Grimsby.

Former Portsmouth forward Jamal Lowe could be given the opportunity to start in a front-two pairing with Bailey Cadamarteri, although the duo are facing competition from Ike Ugbo and Charlie McNeill.

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Killip; Swanson, Poole, Shaughnessy, Williams; Swift, Dozzell; Segecic, Chaplin, Murphy; Bishop

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:

Horvath; Iorfa, Otegbayo, Lowe; Valery, Palmer, Bannan, Ingelsson, Amass; Lowe, Cadamarteri

We say: Portsmouth 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday have proven to be tough to beat in recent meetings with Portsmouth, but with their squad lacking in numbers and quality, we think that they will struggle to take anything off a Pompey side who should be full of confidence following their encouraging start to the campaign.

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