Preview:Portsmouth vs Reading - prediction, team news, lineups

Championship side Portsmouth will welcome League One Reading to Fratton Park for Tuesday’s EFL Cup first-round clash.

Pompey are looking to claim back-to-back victories, while the Royals are searching for their first win of the 2025-26 season.

Match preview

Portsmouth are participating in the Championship for the second season in a row after finishing in 16th place with 54 points from 46 matches.

Pompey made a successful start to the new Championship campaign, claiming a narrow 1-0 victory over Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium.

Adrian Segecic produced the decisive moment with a goal on his debut following his summer arrival from A-League side Sydney FC.

Portsmouth will now turn their focus to Tuesday's EFL Cup fixture, with the hosts looking to avoid a repeat of last season's 1-0 home defeat to Millwall in round one.

The South-coast side should be able to take confidence from the fact that they have won five of their previous seven competitive home games against Reading.

They also made light work of the Royals in last month's friendly at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, thanks to a Colby Bishop brace and goals from Jordan Williams and Callum Lang.

Noel Hunt is two games into his first full season as Reading boss after taking over the reins from Ruben Selles in December.

The 42-year-old oversaw a spirited playoff push last term, but his side ultimately fell just three points short of the top six.

They also finished last term as the seventh-highest scorers, but they have so far failed to carry their attacking prowess into the 2025-26 campaign.

The Royals began the season with a 2-0 away defeat against Lincoln City, before they experienced a repeat of that scoreline in Saturday's home loss to recently-relegated Huddersfield.

They will look to claim their first points of the season in Saturday's home meeting with AFC Wimbledon, but first, they have the chance to build confidence in an EFL Cup clash against Championship opposition.

Reading have fallen in the first round in three of the past four seasons, but they did emerge victorious in their previous EFL Cup clash against Portsmouth in August 2015.

Portsmouth form (all competitions):

Reading form (all competitions):

L L

Team News

Portsmouth remain without the services of Harvey Blair, while key attacker Josh Murphy is unlikely to be involved after missing the win over Oxford with a hamstring issue.

Mousinho has confirmed that Marlon Pack has undergone knee surgery and is expected to be out of action for around six weeks.

The Pompey boss is expected to make wholesale changes to his lineup, which could see Luke Le Roux and Mark Kosznovszky make their debuts for the club.

As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the defensive duo of Paudie O’Connor and Andy Yiadom, while Jeriel Dorsett is a doubt after missing Saturday’s league opener.

Captain Lewis Wing was forced off in the first half against Huddersfield, and will have to be assessed ahead of the midweek trip to the South coast.

Like Mousinho, Hunt may also take the opportunity to rotate his squad, with Jack Stevens, Andre Garcia, Mamadi Camara, Kamari Doyle, Ben Elliott and Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan all in contention to start on Tuesday.

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Killip; Swanson, Bowat, Matthews, Farrell; Le Roux, Kosznovszky; Yang, Devlin, Bianchini; Waddingham

Reading possible starting lineup:

Stevens; Abrefa, Burns, Stickland, Garcia; Elliott, Fraser, Doyle; Camara, Ehibhatiomhan, O’Mahony

We say: Portsmouth 2-1 Reading

Portsmouth will be full of confidence following Saturday's successful outing against Oxford, while Reading will be in a downbeat mood following their sluggish start to the season, and while there may be changes to both sides, we think that Pompey will showcase their Championship quality to seal their place in round two with a narrow win.

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