- Head-to-head: Stoke have the better recent record in this fixture, winning twice in the last 3 meetings, Portsmouth once.
- Recent form: Stoke have been in mixed form (W1 D1 L3) since winning away to Portsmouth 1-0 in the Championship 5 months ago.
- Current run: Portsmouth are unbeaten in 5 Championship games, winning 3 in a row, and have 1 win and 1 draw in their last 2 away games.
Stoke still set up to be a tough nut to crack
Tactical setup:
Stoke boss Mark Robins has made the Potters a more compact, pragmatic, and organized outfit since taking the reins in January 2025. A deep-lying midblock, patient build-up play and swift transitions from a narrow 4-2-3-1 system have been the keys to Stoke’s recent run, which has seen them edge just ahead of Portsmouth in the Championship relegation dogfight.
Table situation:
The bet365 Stadium outfit sit 17th in the table with 55 points from 43 games, 4 more than Pompey who are 18th after the same number of fixtures.
Portsmouth form:
However, Portsmouth have been in good form lately, coming into this late-season relegation six-pointer unbeaten in 5 with 3 straight wins, including recent victories over Ipswich Town and Leicester City.
Portsmouth are playing the right way
John Mousinho has really got Pompey playing on the front foot and pressing hard since taking over in January 2023. Pompey are a high-tempo, direct side that uses the full width of the field to attack in numbers and get bodies behind the ball on defense.
Adrian Segecic is Portsmouth’s top scorer in the Championship this term with 5 goals in 35 appearances, but has also contributed 3 assists in his last 5 games to underline his dual threat as a scorer and provider.
Stoke can nick a win in a classic tactical battle
A classic matchup is set here with Pompey’s all-out attack likely to meet a disciplined Stoke defense that will look to disrupt their rhythm and hit them on the transition. Pompey’s average of 0.95 goals per away game in the Championship this season is nothing to write home about, and they have a win and a draw in their last 2 away games.
The compact nature of this game is likely to be decided by the set pieces and transition play down the flanks where the home side should have the advantage.
- Stoke have won 9, drawn 6 and lost 6 of their 21 Championship home games and should have the edge here at 2.49.
- They have also scored 32 goals in 21 home matches and average 1.52 goals-per-game at the bet365 Stadium, so should get enough chances to win this game.
- Sorba Thomas remains Stoke’s top goalscorer with 10 in 42 appearances, but Jesurun Rak-Sakyi has scored 2 of Stoke’s last 4 goals to emerge as their main attacking outlet of late.
