Southampton vs Portsmouth Prediction: South Coast derby points to be split

Sunday lunchtime at High Noon. It is the match that Hampshire has been waiting for, as Southampton and Portsmouth renew acquaintances for the South Coast derby. The story in the buildup has all been about John Anthony Portsmouth Football Club Westwood's wig but the controversial fan has seen his locks posted back to his bookshop and the column inches can return to being all about the players on the pitch.

We have a Hampshire lad on staff and he gets the assignment for this one. A fiery tussle is expected but Neil Monnery has three Southampton vs Portsmouth Predictions in his match preview...

*You can check out all of the Football Odds from the plethora of games available to bet on over on betfred.com

TV & Live Stream:

The first league South Coast derby since 2012 will be televised on Free-to-Air TV as well as via satellite. ITV1 will broadcast the match along with Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football. Coverage starts from 11:30 on the former with build-up starting half-an-hour earlier on the latter.

The match will be live-streamed via both the ITV Player service and Sky Go.

Kick-off is set for 12:00.

Team News:

Southampton spent £8million just before deadline day on 22-year-old attacking talent Tom Fellows from fellow EFL Championship side West Brom. On paper, he looks like a direct replacement in the squad for Tyler Dibling, who made the switch to Everton late last month. With pace and directness, he looks like a potential problem for Connor Ogilvie should he get the nod to start on Sunday.

Finn Azaz made his debut last time out and Casper Jander could be joining him following his £10,4million transfer.

Manager Will Stein has seen two players depart including the aforementioned Dibling and Mateus Fernandes to West Ham but the young boss will have plenty of options to choose from as he looks for his second victory in the EFL Championship.

As for the visitors, all eyes will be on whether Conor Chaplin goes straight into the side. The Pompey boy made a shock return to Fratton Park in the final hours of deadline day, joining on loan from Ipswich. All signs point towards him playing as part of an exciting trio including Josh Murphy and Adrian Segecic behind talisman Colby Bishop.

Makenzie Kirk and Franco Umeh also signed in the final day of player movement but neither are expected to be in the first XI this weekend.

The fact winger Murphy stayed at the club despite reported interest from Leicester City is a plus for John Mousinho and his side.

Match Odds

Southampton come into this match as the betting favourites. Betfred are offering 8/11 (58% probability) that it’ll be the home fans who are making their way home with smiles on their faces. Portsmouth are available to back at 18/5 (22%% chance) with the draw priced-up at 11/4 (27%).

The traders see this as a fairly tight affair when it comes to the Both Teams to Score and Over 2.5 Goals markets. We have 4/5 for 'BTTS Yes' and the Over 2.5 with the Unders and 'BTTS No' available at 1/1.

The top seven players in the anytime goalscorer market will all be wearing red and white. Adam Armstrong tops the list at 13/10 with Colby Bishop the first Pompey player at 12/5.

You can bet on this match via our Southampton vs Portsmouth Odds page on the main betfred.com website with all the latest prices and full betting markets.

Match Result - Draw @ 11/4

We’ll start with a bet on the match result. The last time these two were in the same division, they split the points on both occasions. A 1-1 draw at Fratton Park was followed by a dramatic 2-2 result at St. Mary’s where Billy Sharp thought he’d won it for the home side in the 89th minute before David Norris thundered in a worldie in injury time.

Southampton have already recorded two draws this season from four games. Portsmouth are unbeaten on the road, beating Oxford with a scrappy 0-1 scoreline before riding their luck at the Hawthorns against West Brom.

There will be a lot of passion and energy on show but I wonder where the quality will come from. A low-scoring draw looks a very good bet on paper.

John Swift to be Booked @ 11/5

As I just said, there will be a lot of passion and energy on show and with two local lads set to play against Southampton for the first time, you would not be surprised to see either get the flash of yellow from referee Matthew Donohue.

I’ve gone with John Swift as he’s already seen his name taken three times this season in just four EFL Championship matches. The 30-year-old has been booked in both games away from PO4 and with the intensity set to reach fever pitch - backing Pompey’s holding midfielder to break up a fast-break or two cynically seems like a good prospect.

Colby Bishop to score anytime @ 5/2

In matches like these, I always think there is a bit of added value backing a penalty taker to hit the back of the net. I’ve gone with Bishop here primarily because he’s a big price. 5/2 for a central striker to score anytime is good value in a match between sides in close-proximity in the league table.

Pompey’s number nine opened his account for the season at West Brom with a fine headed effort. I think he gets a good chance or two on Sunday and that 5/2 price just feels a touch too long.

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