Portsmouth vs Sunderland Prediction: Saydee great value to net again

Two of the EFL Championship's most consistent sides so far this season meet at Fratton Park on Saturday (15:00), as Sunderland make the long trip down south to play Portsmouth. The north-east club have won all three league games under new head coach Regis Le Bris, while this weekend's hosts have drawn all three matches after winning League 1 earlier this year.

Read below for my Portsmouth vs Sunderland prediction and all the latest team news ahead of this south coast clash.

Team News

Portsmouth remain without injured quartet Regan Poole, Tom McIntyre, Jacob Farrell and Josh Murphy, none of whom have featured yet this term. Last season's top scorer Colby Bishop is also still out after undergoing heart surgery during the summer.

Samuel Silvera is free to return after being ineligible to play in the 2-2 draw with parent club Middlesbrough last weekend, but the Australian faces a battle to reclaim his starting spot.

Harvey Blair made his Pompey debut on Teesside and looks set for another substitute outing on Saturday when fellow new arrival Abdoulaye Kamara will hope to play his first minutes in English football following his move from Borussia Dortmund.

Football Odds

Sunderland began life after Jack Clarke with a 1-0 victory over early pacesetters Burnley, who were downed by the new Ipswich Town winger's replacement, Romain Mundle. The 21-year-old will surely keep his starting spot for the trip down south, but Le Bris will be forced into at least one alteration following the red card shown to midfielder Dan Neil during the latter stages of last Saturday's win against the Clarets.

Pierre Ekwah would be a suitable replacement but the 22-year-old Frenchman hasn't made a league appearance yet this season as he continues to be linked with clubs on the continent, including Saint-Etienne. Therefore, Alan Browne looks the most likely player to fill in for Neil at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth vs Sunderland Odds

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Portsmouth are 5/2 to triumph for the first time this term, giving them an implied win probability of 28.6%, while Sunderland are 10/11, or a 52.4% chance, to maintain their 100 per cent record in the Championship.

The draw can be backed at 12/5, both teams to score at 8/11 and over 2.5 total goals at 10/11.

Sunderland duo Nazariy Rusyn and Luis Semedo (15/8) are joint favourites to score anytime on Saturday, while Pompey pair Kusini Yengi and Callum Lang (16/5) are considered most likely to net anytime for the visitors.

Double Chance & Both Teams to Score - Portsmouth or Draw & Yes @ 9/5

Three points from three games don't necessarily show it, but it has been a positive start to the season for Portsmouth on their long-awaited return to the Championship. John Mousinho's side were dealt a difficult fixture list in August, with three clubs all considered to be among the main automatic promotion contenders - Leeds United, Luton Town and Middlesbrough - to kick the campaign off.

Pompey stunned Elland Road on the opening weekend, taking the lead twice in West Yorkshire before having to settle for a 3-3 draw. Next up in the league was the visit of Luton, recently relegated from the Premier League. Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski was sent off just after the half-hour mark, reducing the Hatters to 10 men, and in the end, it was the hosts that rued a goalless draw.

Last week's stalemate on Teesside means Portsmouth are still unbeaten in the league, but they face a stern test of their credentials this weekend with the visit of Sunderland, who started the season with a 2-0 win at Cardiff City before thrashing Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 on Wearside and following that up with last week's victory over Burnley. Even the sale of star winger Clarke hasn't seemed to slow the Black Cats down, and they will be targeting a fourth league win in a row at a recently promoted club.

However, one record must go on Saturday, and I think it will be Sunderland's 100 per cent one. Portsmouth failed to fire past Luton but scored three at Leeds and a couple at Middlesbrough, highlighting their attacking prowess which has only been strengthened by the recent return from injury of Yengi and the arrival of Blair from Liverpool.

Pompey only lost three of their 23 League 1 games at Fratton Park last season and one of those - a 2-1 defeat to Wigan Athletic on April 20 - was after the south coast club had already secured promotion. The Championship is a step up in class, but they've had no problem so far against three of the division's heavyweight sides, and I think they can at least avoid defeat on Saturday.

I do expect a couple of goals at least as well, with Sunderland netting in all three Championship games so far and Portsmouth blanking just once, firing five across the other two.

Anytime Scorer - Christian Saydee @ 16/5

Christian Saydee scored just twice in 36 League 1 appearances last season but has already equalled that number in the Championship, bagging a first-half brace at Boro last weekend. The 22-year-old had spent most of his Pompey career playing behind the striker but has been leading the line for the last couple of games to great effect. He looks set to continue in that role on Saturday and that gives him a great chance to add to his tally.

Saydee's previous season-best league total was in 2022/23 when he scored seven in League 1 for Shrewsbury, but perhaps he is now starting to find his feet in the professional game. The Reading Academy graduate, who moved to AFC Bournemouth in 2018, was lauded by his manager for his display against Boro, on the back of an encouraging performance against Luton, and looks a good price at 16/5 to find the net anytime this weekend.

At the time of writing, Betfred have seven players listed that are considered more likely to score anytime than Saydee on Saturday, so I think there is value to be had in backing the forward to fire at Fratton Park.

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