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

Championship side Portsmouth will begin their pre-season schedule with an away friendly against National League outfit Woking on Tuesday.

The Cards are set to enter their first full season under the watch of former Pompey striker Jermain Defoe, while the visitors are building up to a third consecutive campaign in the second tier.

Match preview

Defoe is still relatively new to life in senior management after taking over the reins at Woking in late March.

The ex-England international oversaw two wins, four draws and one defeat in the final seven games of the National League season.

After finishing in 10th spot last term, Woking will be aiming to mount a push for a top-seven spot in their pursuit of reaching the EFL for the first time in their history.

Woking last achieved that feat in the 2022-23 campaign, when they finished in fourth spot with 82 points to their name, only to then lose 2-1 to Bromley in the playoff quarter-finals.

With the focus firmly on the upcoming season, Woking have made seven signings to Defoe's squad, including the attacking additions of Josh Ayres, Josh Kelly, Sean Adarkwa, Liam Dulson and Ashley Clarke.

Defoe will have the chance to put his ideas across to the new signings during the course of pre-season, which started with a narrow 2-1 win over Sholing at the weekend.

Portsmouth, meanwhile, are preparing for a third consecutive Championship season after securing survival with an 18th-place finish last term.

Pompey boss John Mousinho was linked with the Bristol City job following the conclusion of the 2025-26 campaign, but he remains in charge at Fratton Park as the focus now turns to transforming a relegation-threatened team into one that can compete further up the table.

The south coast side have added a couple of names to their squad in midfielder Odin Bailey and forward Eion Kenny, although they are reportedly on the brink of bringing in further reinforcements.

After starting their preparations for the new season with a training camp in Ireland, Portsmouth will officially begin pre-season with two friendlies in as many days.

A trip to Aldershot Town on Wednesday will follow Tuesday's meeting with Woking, before Pompey face Bristol Rovers, Wycombe Wanderers and Farnborough.

Mousinho's charges will then head to Germany for a friendly against 2.Bundesliga side Darmstadt 98, representing the final stop of their pre-season schedule before the campaign begins with an EFL Cup tie against recently relegated West Ham United.

Woking form friendlies:

Team News

Woking's lineup is tough to predict at this early stage of pre-season, especially after the Cards fielded a number of trialists in Saturday's win over Sholing.

Out of the current first-team squad, Zico Asare, Timi Odusina, Chinwike Okoli and Caleb Richards appear the most likely to make up the back four.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Adarkwa could be given the chance to lead the line after arriving on a free transfer from Wealdstone.

Portsmouth, meanwhile, are unable to call upon left-back Conor Ogilvie, who is expected to miss the start of the Championship season after undergoing knee surgery.

Mousinho will have to decide whether to split his squad between Tuesday and Wednesday's friendlies or give players a 45-minute run-out in the two games.

Bailey and Kenny could make their first appearances in a Pompey shirt, although they may not feature in the starting XI.

Woking possible starting lineup:

Jaaskelainen; Asare, Odiusina, Okoli, Richards; Sohna, Syle; Clarke, Kelly, Dryer; Adarkwa

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Schmid; Devlin, Poole, Shaughnessy, Bowat; Pack, Adams; Segecic, Swift, Murphy; Bishop

We say: Woking 1-3 Portsmouth

The main priority for both managers will be for their players to build up their match sharpness at this early stage of pre-season.

That said, Portsmouth will still want to build confidence with a win, and boasting a much stronger squad than their hosts, we think the Championship outfit will record a comfortable victory.

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