Preview: Portsmouth vs West Bromwich Albion - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams currently battling for Championship survival will face off when Portsmouth play host to West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.

Portsmouth are hovering just a point above the drop zone, while the Baggies are only two points better off in 20th position. 

Match preview

Portsmouth have shown battling qualities in recent weeks, having lost just one of their previous eight Championship matches (W3, D4). 

In fact, they have put together a three-game unbeaten run since losing to Bristol City and Arsenal in the league and FA Cup respectively.

After beating Sheffield Wednesday 1-0, Portsmouth went on to pick up a useful away point against Watford, before they returned to Fratton Park for a fiery south coast derby with Southampton.

January addition Ebou Adams endeared himself to the home faithful, scoring a 77th-minute equaliser to cancel out Leo Scienza's opener, with the 1-1 draw proving enough to lift Pompey out of the drop zone.

John Mousinho's side have now gone four Championship home games without defeat and have not conceded more than one goal in any of their last eight league outings at Fratton Park. 

However, their hopes of three points on Saturday may be slightly tempered by the fact that they have not beaten West Bromwich Albion since they claimed a 1-0 win in the 2007-08 FA Cup semi-finals, while their most recent league success took place in December 2005, when Svetoslav Todorov scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory.

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West Brom have been drawn into a relegation battle after losing eight of their previous 11 league matches (W2, D1).

The West Brom hierarchy decided to sack Ryan Mason following a 2-1 defeat to Leicester City earlier this month, before appointing Eric Ramsay as his successor.

Ramsay, who swapped Minnesota United for the Baggies, started his tenure with back-to-back defeats, including a heavy 5-0 loss against Middlesbrough.

The 34-year-old looked set to oversee another loss in last Saturday's away clash with Derby County until Chris Mepham netted a 95th-minute equaliser to salvage a 1-1 draw, leaving the Baggies three points clear of the drop ahead of the weekend's action. 

After ending a run of 10 consecutive away league defeats, West Brom's next objective will be to claim their first Championship away win since beating Norwich City 1-0 on October 1.

The Baggies have avoided defeat in their last five meetings with Portsmouth (W2, D3), including a 3-0 triumph on their most recent visit to Fratton Park in September 2024. 

Portsmouth Championship form:

Portsmouth form (all competitions):

West Bromwich Albion Championship form:

West Bromwich Albion form (all competitions):

Team News

Portsmouth are contending with a lengthy injury list that includes Josh Knight, Conor Shaughnessy, Hayden Matthews, Franco Umeh, Harvey Blair, Josh Murphy and Thomas Waddingham. 

Key attacker Callum Lang is back in full training, but it remains to be seen whether he will be ready for Saturday's contest. 

Defender Regan Poole is hoping to prove his fitness in time after he was unable to feature in the derby due to a groin issue. 

As for West Brom, they remain without long-term absentee Tammer Bany, who is continuing to work on his rehabilitation from thigh surgery. 

Krystian Bielik and Karlan Grant are both injury doubts after being forced off in the dramatic draw with Derby.

Mepham is likely to start if Bielik is out, while Samuel Iling-Junior is waiting in the wings to replace Grant on the left flank.

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Schmid; Devlin, Poole, Ogilvie, Swanson; Dozzell, Adams; Segecic, Chaplin, Alli; Bishop

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:

O'Leary; Price, Campbell, Phillips, Mepham, Styles; Johnston, Diakite, Molumby, Iling-Junior; Heggebo

We say: Portsmouth 2-1 West Bromwich Albion

Portsmouth may be winless in five meetings with the Bagies, but they made a habit of picking up points in recent home games, and considering West Brom have lost 10 of their previous 11 away league matches, we think the hosts will pick up a narrow victory in this one.

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