Portsmouth

Basement-boys Luton host resurgent Portsmouth on Saturday (15:00 GMT) in a game with big implications at the foot of the Championship.

The Hatters have picked up just three points from eight league games under new boss Matt Bloomfield and have scored only one goal across five home games since Christmas.

Town's poor goal difference means they are effectively six points from safety while John Mousinho's men have climbed nine points clear of the relegation zone off the back of three straight victories.

• Luton Town have won just one of their past 10 league games against Portsmouth (D3 L6), though that sole victory did come in their last meeting at Kenilworth Road, a 3-2 win in January 2019.

• Portsmouth have won two of their past three away league games against Luton Town (L1), as many as across their prior 21 visits combined (D5 L14).

• Luton have failed to win any of their past 12 league games (D3 L9), their longest winless run in the Football League since a 13-match stint between January and March 2008.

• Portsmouth have won their past three league games in succession and will be looking to win four in a row for the first time in England's second tier since March 2011 (six wins).

• Portsmouth's 2-0 win at Oxford United in their last away game ended a run of 11 games without a win and seven straight defeats on the road. They last won consecutive away league games in the Championship in February 2011.

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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says there has to be a wariness around the demands placed on players.

It comes as the Pompey head coach chose not to disclose details of his injury list at his weekly news conference ahead of their Championship match at Luton on Saturday.

The expectation was that Mousinho would outline the timelines for when defenders Rob Atkinson and Hayden Matthews would return but instead the Pompey boss will reserve that information until after Saturday's game.

"The best thing is I'll give you the full rundown after the game," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"You'll have a good idea of where we're at with the starting line-up on Saturday and I'll speak to you about it afterwards."

Portsmouth have suffered a number of injuries throughout the season with long-term absentees including defender Conor Shaughnessy while they were also without Jordan Williams, Freddie Potts and Callum Lang for last weekend's win over QPR.

"I've been at the club for two years now and we've never had a clean bill of health," he added. "We were watching Championship games on Tuesday night and players were getting injured for various reasons.

"It's one of those seasons where it's only going to get worse with the state of the pitches and the weather and the demands on players so it's something we need to be wary of in the future."

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Portsmouth's brilliantly-timed run of form is both delighting their fans and starting to convince many observers that Championship survival is theirs for the taking.

For Matt Ritchie it was never seriously in doubt.

Saturday's 2-1 win against Queens Park Rangers was Pompey's third in a row and took John Mousinho's side nine points clear of the relegation zone with 12 games to go.

Just over a month ago, Portsmouth were next to bottom after suffering a fourth defeat in five at Blackburn.

That came after a start to the season that saw Mousinho's team win only one of their first 14 games and among the favourites to make an immediate return to League One.

"We certainly didn't feel that internally," Ritchie told BBC Radio Solent. "We felt like we had enough.

"There were obviously some lessons we had to learn quickly and, certainly for me personally, there wasn't one moment when I thought 'I'm not sure we've got enough here'.

"I think we can play different ways and adapt."

Ritchie's third goal of the season put Pompey 2-0 up against the Hoops and although Jimmy Dunne halved the deficit with 15 minute to go, Portsmouth held on for another vital victory.

"It's a big win and three more points in trying to achieve Championship status for next season - that's the objective," Ritchie said, before adding he "hadn't scored enough tap-ins" in his career.

With a trip to bottom-club Luton up next on Saturday, before the unenviable task of trying to upset leaders Leeds a week later, Pompey have a decent chance to extend that winning run to four.

But Ritchie underscored the value in staying grounded, despite their winning form.

"We have to stay with our feet on the floor," he said. "We had a nice run but the margins in those games have been so small. We have to make sure we continue to take care of the small moments."

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent's Portsmouth commentator

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Colby Bishop has been key to Portsmouth's recent progress.

He scored 20 league goals in consecutive seasons in League One but his efforts this campaign are arguably more impressive.

His recovery from open heart surgery was far quicker than anyone expected and his return to the side has coincided with Pompey's significant improvement.

The new deal is just rewards for a player who's had to fight his way through non-league football and didn't play in the second tier until he was 28.

Tom Chappell
Fan writer from Fournilwrittenalloverit

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A benchmark of 13 wins in any given Championship season usually guarantees divisional status for the following campaign.

With that in mind, John Mousinho's side need to find just three wins from their remaining 12 fixtures to all but meet that threshold.

A slightly better return from the remaining dozen league matches would mean Pompey would stay up with interest.

Three wins on the bounce in the Championship is an incredibly difficult feat to achieve - you have to look as high as seventh-placed Coventry City for another team with nine points from their last three games.

QPR's trip to Fratton Park was perhaps the hardest I've seen the boys work in a single game so far this season - and the moment the full-time whistle blew, seemingly half of the XI wearing blue shirts collapsed to the ground in a mixture of exhaustion, injury and relief.

It was another occasion when Pompey's overall performance was far from eye-catching yet there was an underbelly of impressive showings from individuals all over the pitch.

Matt Ritchie's goal tally creeping up, an assist for Andre Dozzell and a creative, live-wire performance from Adil Aouchiche were three subtle standouts from Saturday.

The headline-grabbing Josh Murphy continues to shine as Pompey's flagship attacking outlet - a player who, certainly from an opposition's perspective, is instruction immune.

No matter how many managers drip feed their left-back on how Murphy is not allowed to cut in on the right, in piping-hot form and with such an eye for the target, there is no stopping him whatsoever.

A final mention from me is for the heroism of Hayden Matthews.

He picked up a seemingly innocuous issue with a good 10 minutes to play plus what felt like never-ending time beyond the regulation 90. This meant a young man who could hardly move hobbled around as a number 9 for as much as he could give.

It was what can only be defined as a proper 'Pompey effort' from him - giving it absolutely everything right to the very end.

Not a wonder really that the Fratton faithful have so duly taken to the lad.

A season-defining away day awaits Pompey at Kenilworth Road this weekend. Back-to-back away wins, considering some of the low points suffered on our travels this season, would be a sensational moment in our story back in the second tier to date.

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Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent reporter

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A third win in a row underlines where this Portsmouth side is now. Heading in the right direction, away from the relegation zone.

For a second straight week it was a pretty dull first half for the neutral. That though underlines how much better defensively Pompey are than the first few months of the season.

Josh Murphy turns 30 today. He must be catching eyes with his consistent, outstanding performances. A great goal and excellent assist secured Pompey three points against QPR. He must be a strong player of the season candidate.

However, there's another nervous few days ahead waiting on scan results. Rob Atkinson picked up a calf injury while Hayden Matthews could barely move by the end and left on crutches. Potentially, Pompey may have lost three centre backs in under two weeks.

Even if it's bad news though, surely Pompey have enough to complete their survival mission from here. They've looked like a solid mid-table Championship team for a decent period now.

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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho felt that 'small moments' at the start of the second half proved decisive after his side held off QPR to record their third win in a row.

Mousinho's side put a tepid first half behind them by scoring twice inside three minutes through Josh Murphy and Matt Ritchie and, although Jimmy Dunne halved the deficit for the visitors, it was not enough.

"It looked like a game where both sides were a little bit worried about opening up," the Pompey manager told BBC Radio Solent.

"QPR pressed us really well so we didn't have an opportunity to play, but we came out in the second half and just got the small moments right and I thought we were superb up until they scored.

"That made the game naturally a bit fractious and nervous for us at the back end, but we dealt with it. There were elements of the performance that were absolutely superb so I'm very pleased."

Dan George & Andrew Moon
BBC Sport, South

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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho says that despite two recent wins, the bottom of the Championship table is "still really tight".

Victories over Oxford United and Cardiff City brought a welcome six points for his side, who are now seven clear of the relegation zone with three teams between them and the bottom three.

Pompey's win away at Oxford was their second on the road this season and their first away from home in four months.

"It's still really tight," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"We have put ourselves in a really good position, though, because of the two wins that we picked up last week, but there are plenty of big - and good - clubs still below us.

"The way that I see it is that we have to focus on ourselves and pick up as many points as possible, we'll just keep going until we're actually safe.

"Naturally after games we do have a look at the table but the most important thing is for us to focus on ourselves and let the rest take care of itself."

The Blues host QPR on Saturday as they look win three games on the bounce for the first time this season.

Portsmouth won the reverse fixture 2-1 earlier on in the season, and another win could push them as high as 16th in the table if other results also go their way on Saturday afternoon.

Portsmouth are looking to win three games on the bounce for the first time this season in the Championship when they welcome QPR to Fratton Park on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Pompey have moved seven points clear of the relegation zone after beating Cardiff and Oxford in their past two games and will hope to pull further away from danger.

The Hoops are 13th but only four points off the top six and still in contention for a play-off spot.

• After winning the reverse fixture 2-1 in October last year, Portsmouth will be looking to record a first league double over QPR since the 1961-62 season.

• QPR are unbeaten across their past three visits to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth in the league (W1 D2), since a 3-0 defeat in August 1998.

• Following wins over Cardiff and Oxford, Portsmouth are looking for three consecutive three Championship victories for the first time since winning six in a row in February/March 2011.

• QPR have won six of their nine Championship matches in 2025 (L3), with only Leeds (21), Sheffield United (21) and Coventry (19) winning more points so far this year than the Hoops (18).

• Ilias Chair has been directly involved in six goals in his past nine Championship appearances for Queens Park Rangers (2 goals, 4 assists) although he's yet to score an away goal this season.

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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho has praised new signing Hayden Matthews following his move from A-League side Sydney FC.

Matthews, 20, became the most expensive defender in Australian football when he moved to Fratton Park last month for a reported £1.26m and has impressed during his short time in England so far.

"He's got a lot of confidence and I think that's because he's played so well in such a short space of time since turning pro," Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent.

"When you earn the right to start every week in the A-League, earn the right to get your first cap for Australia and earn the right to get a decent move over into this country - I think that has just given him a lot of confidence."

The central defender has played in all five Championship games he has been available for Pompey, including 90 minutes in the 2-0 victory over Oxford United last Saturday.

"He's laid-back but we want him to be realistic about all the things he needs to improve upon and set his sights on taking care of centre forwards as best as he can," Mousinho added.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent reporter

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Callum Lang was one of the few bright spots in a disappointing first half of the season.

Pompey are better equipped to cope with his absence now than they would have been before the January window but this is still a massive blow.

He's the top scorer with twice as many league goals as anyone else and his relentless energy has been crucial in Pompey's successful pressing of teams.

Adil Aouchiche is now likely to get an opportunity to start at 10.

In five days Pompey picked up two priceless wins but also lost Conor Shaughnessy and Callum Lang to hamstring injuries.

They are in a good position to avoid relegation but really can't afford to lose any more key players.

Andrew Moon
BBC Radio Solent reporter

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Finally, Portsmouth have won a game on the road and - incredibly - that was their first clean sheet away from home all season.

They probably edged a game that wasn't a great spectacle for the neutral. The opening goal, a mad goalmouth scramble, summed it up.

The final 10 minutes were manic, with Oxford missing a couple of glorious chances before Mark O'Mahony signalled his return with a brilliantly taken second.

The loss of Callum Lang to a hamstring injury is a big blow. The hope is the injury isn't too serious, although the squad is better equipped to cope with these losses than before January. Hayden Matthews was outstanding filling in for Conor Shaughnessy.

Portsmouth are seven points clear of the bottom three with a favourable run-in. There's still plenty of work to do to ensure survival but given where they were in October, it's a great position to be in.

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Portsmouth boss John Mousinho enjoyed a first away success against former club Oxford United as his side came away from the Kassam Stadium with three points after a game delayed in the first half because of a medical emergency in the crowd.

It was the second time in less than a month that Pompey have been affected by a similar situation - although it happened before kick-off against Middlesbrough on 18 January - but Mousinho was delighted to see his team bounce back from last Saturday's loss to Sheffield United with a second successive win.

"To come out of the week with six points – it could have been more, could have been nine – is a brilliant return and we've just got to keep going," he told BBC Radio Solent.

"It [the delay] was difficult for both sides, we dealt with it really well at the Middlesbrough game, but that was at the start – they were different circumstances here because we'd played 12 minutes and after that we dropped off a little bit, we didn't adjust to the stoppage well."

Andre Dozzell scored the opening goal after the ball bounced around in the box pinball-style, and Mark O'Mahony added the second in added time.

"I've been joking with Dozz about his goalscoring record - I think I might have more than him this season - but he is very good technically, he's been excellent for the past couple of weeks and today I thought he was outstanding," said Mousinho, who saw his side draw on their two previous visits to Oxford.

"Coming here now, it's business as usual, you've got to take the emotion out of it. It's an away victory for us, and that's the most important thing regardless of where it is."

Portsmouth now have seven days to recover before a home game against QPR.

Plenty at stake as Oxford United welcome Portsmouth to the Kassam on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Pompey go into the game with a four-point cushion over the relegation zone with the Us just two places, but a further five points, ahead of them in 16th.

John Mousinho's side haven't picked up a point on the road since a draw at Swansea in November while their only away win came six weeks earlier at QPR.

Gary Rowett's United side have suffered just one defeat since Boxing Day - a run of 11 games - which was a 1-0 reverse at Burnley last week, though they are winless in four, scoring just once across those games.

• Oxford United have won just one of their past 10 league games against Portsmouth (D6 L3) and are winless in their last six games (D4 L2).

• Portsmouth have only won one of their past seven EFL visits to Oxford (D3 L3); a 1-0 victory in February 2021.

• After one win in eight home league games between September and December (D4 L3), Oxford have won four of their past five games (D1).

• Portsmouth have lost each of their past seven away league games; their longest run since March 2006 in the Premier League (9 games).

• Portsmouth's Callum Lang has more league goals against Oxford (6 in 7 games) than any other side, netting in each of his last four league games against them.

Tom Chappell
Fan writer from Fournilwrittenalloverit

The last time Pompey scored a goal of any kind on a Tuesday night before this week was when Conor Shaughnessy rose the highest to win the league at Fratton Park back in April last year.

So it seems apt that he won us the game against Cardiff with an almost identical header at the other end of the ground.

My word, are Pompey fans pleased to see his aerial threat back, causing mayhem, with Colby's goal drought coming to an audacious end too.

It was a game Portsmouth had to win, and a game we did win. But blimey, it wasn't an easy watch at times!

Some of the seemingly 100mph football felt unsolicited and frankly, struck me as quite naive, particularly as the game came to a close.

It was quite refreshing to see Pompey protect the ball by the corner flag for the final couple of moments, considering before that we'd had a frightening spell of frenetic football.

But take nothing away from the size of the result and the positive implications it has to encourage the team as we begin this crucial six-game run.

Connor Ogilvie was at his imperial best; Josh Murphy's deadly box entries and undeniable pace were demonstrable throughout, and Andre Dozzell caught the eye, registering one of his strongest displays in blue to date.

Critics will perhaps divide the 20-minute start from the rest of the game and cite the stark contrast in performance level, while others will note that a hard-fought win is perfectly acceptable to take points at the bottom end of this division.

What really matters now is that we are in result-over-performance territory, and that applies to every game from now until the season's end, by which point Pompey will have hopefully done enough to be deserving of a spot in the second tier.

It's going to be a close one. But as Colby said after the game, there's plenty to be confident about in terms of our chances of finishing the right side of the dotted line.

An away win at long last this coming weekend would revolutionise the Pompey narrative once again.

One thing is for sure, we are due one…

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Boss John Mousinho admits losing Conor Shaughnessy for an extended period would be a big blow to Pompey.

After starting Portsmouth's first two games after promotion, the Irish centre-back missed 26 games because of a calf injury, making his comeback off the bench in the defeat to Millwall on 28 January.

The 28-year-old has started the past three games but limped off with a hamstring problem after an hour against Cardiff on Tuesday, having scored what turned out to be the winner at Fratton Park.

Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent: "We're going to send him for a scan, we don't know the extent of the injury. He didn't look great - we're hopeful it's minimum damage but you never know.

"With hamstring injuries it could be two weeks, two months or anything in between, we've had both, they are tricky ones to handle unfortunately.

"It's a big blow because he's come into the side and done excellently. He played for 60 minutes, scored the winner, and has had had a huge impact on us defensively, and popping up with goals that we desperately need him to pop up with.

"He's going to be a big miss and we're going to need players in the squad to step up."

Regan Poole and Kusini Yengi have returned to full training and will be assessed on Friday while Mousinho also said Freddie Potts was 50-50 for Saturday's trip to Oxford United (12:30 GMT).