Portsmouth vs Preston North End Prediction: Stalemate on South Coast?

Portsmouth are in real trouble and remain rooted to the bottom of the league after a 1-0 defeat to Plymouth Argyle in midweek. John Mousinho remains under pressure at Fratton Park and will hope to turn his team’s fortunes around as they host Preston North End (15:00, Saturday) on home soil.

PNE held league leaders Sunderland to a 0-0 draw in midweek and Paul Heckingbottom’s side are hovering just above the bottom three. It makes this encounter an absolutely crucial one, and you can find my Portsmouth vs Preston North End prediction down below.

Team News

Portsmouth will be without Will Norris yet again, with second-choice goalkeeper Nicolas Schmid set to deputise once more. Paddy Lane, Colby Bishop, Conor Shaughnessy and Jacob Farrell are all also absent for this one, while we could see Marlon Pack return to the midfield. 

Tom McIntyre and Regan Poole will play in defence, while Mark O’Mahoney could return up front after Pompey failed to score again in midweek. Matt Ritchie and Josh Murphy are wide options for a side struggling in all areas right now. 

Meanwhile, Jack Whatmough looks set to come into the Preston back line after regular centre-back Liam Lindsay was forced off in midweek. Whatmough has made two starts this term and could line up against his former club alongside Jordan Storey and Andrew Hughes.

Emil Riis Jakobsen and Sam Greenwood should continue up front with Ben Whiteman pulling the strings in midfield. All current injured players, such as Liam Brady and Ched Evans, have been ruled out until after the internatonal break, so Heckingbottom could name an unchanged XI after a good showing vs Sunderland. 

Portsmouth vs Preston North End Odds

Portsmouth are priced at 15/8 to win this game, with Preston available at 6/4. That gives the away side an implied win probability of 40%, with a draw priced at 9/4.  Over 2.5 goals is 1/1, BTTS is 8/11 and Riis is the favourite to open the scoring at 13/2. 

Under 2.5 goals @ 8/11

Given what we’ve seen from Pompey this season, it’s difficult to see this game being packed full of goals. There’s been under 2.5 goals in three of their last four outings and they have scored just three home goals this season, failing to win any of their six games at Fratton Park. They just don’t seem to have the attacking firepower to compete in this league right now and they are coming up against a stubborn PNE outfit. 

A 0-0 draw with high-flying Sunderland showed just how difficult they can make themselves to beat, and Heckingbottom has turned them into a competitive outfit this term. In my opinion, this will be a pretty battling performance from both sides, but one lacking in goalmouth action.