Portsmouth (home)
- Portsmouth have won their last two home games while Birmingham have failed to win in their last two away.
- John Mousinho’s side have won four of their last five games, losing once, to improve their position.
- Portsmouth have won eight, drawn five and lost nine of their home games in the Championship, averaging 1.09 goals per game at home and conceding only 1.00 goals, which is pretty good.
Birmingham City (away)
- Birmingham are in a much healthier position in tenth with 63 points and could still finish strongly under Chris Davies, who has brought his patient, possession-based game to the West Midlands side.
- Staggeringly, Birmingham have only won five away games in the Championship all season, suffering four draws and 13 defeats.
- They average only 0.77 goals per away game while conceding 1.50, so we rate Portsmouth’s chance of getting a shutout here.
- So much hangs on the tactical matchup here because Mousinho likes to press high with intensity while Davies prefers his side to keep the ball in the build-up and then patiently probe.
Head-to-Head
Birmingham City won 4-0 in the Championship meeting five months ago but Portsmouth have improved significantly since then.
Key Players
- Jay Stansfield: Bluebirds’ Jay Stansfield has hit 10 goals in 43 Championship appearances this season.
- Adrian Segecic: Pompey’s top scorer is Adrian Segecic, who has nine goals in 37 games, including four goals and three assists in his last five.
Betting Insights
The odds on Portsmouth to win are 2.41 , which is a fair price on the back of their recent uptick in form, but there are better prices in under 2.5 goals, 2.05 , and both teams to score - No, 2.26 .
Prediction
It should be a cagey matchup with at least one shutout and home advantage should see Pompey edge it in a low-scoring encounter.
