Pompey will be looking for a positive reaction to their midweek drubbing when they welcome Oxford to Fratton Park on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off). John Mousinho's men are searching for their first victory of the season against a side who have adapted a bit quicker to life in the Championship. Both clubs secured promotion from League One last term, but while the hosts romped to the title, their next opponents took an altogether nervier route. United had initially struggled for consistency after Des Buckingham replaced Bristol City-bound Liam Manning in November. They improved towards the end of the campaign, however, and sealed a play-off spot with victory at Exeter on the final day. A narrow aggregate success over Peterborough followed before Josh Murphy's brace at Wembley was enough to beat Bolton in the final. Oxford are currently sitting comfortanly in 11th position, but all but one of their 11 points has been secured on home soil. Prior to a midweek draw at Luton, they had been beaten on the road at Coventry, Blackburn and Bristol City. Pompey collected four points in meetings between the teams last season, with Callum Lang and Christian Saydee on target in a 2-1 triumph at Fratton Park. TEAM NEWS Jacob Farrell (knee), Callum Lang (groin), Conor Shaughnessy (calf) and Kusini Yengi (groin) are all expected to miss out. Ibane Bowat is set to miss the the rest of the season with a serious knee injury, while Colby Bishop is continuing his rehabilitation from heart surgery. The visitors will be missing Joe Bennett, Cameron Brannagan and Przemysław Płacheta, while Matt Phillips is also a doubt. VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM Read the thoughts of John Mousinho and Marlon Pack ahead of the big game. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Pompey: 28 wins Oxford: 23 wins 25 draws At Fratton Park Pompey: 19 wins Oxford: 4 wins 13 draws Last Fratton Meeting Pompey 2 (Lang, Saydee) Oxford 1 (Brannagan) League One March 2 2024 TICKETS There is only limited availability, so click here to secure your seat. The ticket exchange will remain open until two hours before kick-off. Click here to read our matchday guide to find out what is happening around the ground ahead of the game. OFFICIALS Referee: Lewis Smith Assistants: Mark Dwyer and Bhupinder Singh Gill Fourth Official: Charles Breakspear Smith last took charge of a Pompey game when they won 3-2 on the road at Barnsley in September of last season, showing one yellow card to each side. MATCH COVERAGE Supporters in the UK can watch the game live via the Sky Sports+ app. Supporters based overseas can watch the game on Pompey+, either through a monthly/annual subscription or by purchasing a match pass. The matchday show is live before the game for Pompey+ subscribers and overseas fans with a video subscription/match pass. George Wedlake will be joined in the Fratton Park studio by Danny Rose and Paul Hardyman. Fans can get involved by sending messages and voicenotes to our Pompey+ WhatsApp channel* on +44 7457 413694 or via this link. Please note that live video coverage of half-time and post-match shows is only available for fans in regions where the game is being shown live on Pompey+. Audio commentary from Andrew Moon and Guy Whittingham is available for Pompey+ subscribers or those who purchase an audio subscription/match pass. Click here for more details about using Pompey+, including the answers to some frequently asked questions. Locally-based fans who are not going to the game can listen as always via BBC Radio Solent or Express FM (not available online). *Please note that the WhatsApp service is only for sending messages to appear on the matchday show. The club will not be able to reply to any messages.
Easy to find a stream in the championship but the quality has been pretty bad..maybe today will be different
Oxford United Starting Line Up:- Number1, J. Cumming Number3, C. Brown Number16, B. Nelson Number2, S. Long Number30, P. Kioso Number4, W. Vaulks Number19, T. Goodrham Number15, I. El Mizouni Number20, Ruben Rodrigues Number29, K. Edwards Number9, M. Harris Substitutes: Number17, O. Dale Number23, S. Dembélé Number25, W. Goodwin Number21, M. Ingram Number22, G. Leigh Number11, M. Ebiowei Number44, D. Scarlett Number14, L. Sibley Number24, H. ter Avest
Pompey replace under siege keeper Will Norris with Austrian signing Nicolas Schmid making his debut. Danish striker Elias Sorensen comes into the side along with Jordan Williams and Christian Saydee. On the bench for Oxford is a certain Dane Scarlett, who is on loan from Spurs.
Christian Saydee left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Regan Poole with a cross. 1st minute.
So it turns out the exact same stream is much better on chrome than edge. Who'd have thought it. Poor penalty, seemed to telegraph what direction he was going. At least it was on target...
Attempt missed. Elias Sørensen right footed shot from outside the box following a corner. 16 minutes.
Freddie Potts right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right following a corner. 22 minutes.
Idris El Mizouni (Oxford United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner by Nicolas Schmid. 26 minutes.
Half time whistle. 0-0. We started the match really fast, with 3 at the back, and two wingbacks, winning a penalty, whish was brilliantly saved by their keeper. Oxford then came more into the match. Boy, aren't we missing Bishop and Yengi up front !
HALF TIME MATCH STATS:- Overall Possession Portsmouth 55.6%Oxford United 44.4% Shots Portsmouth 9Oxford United 7 Shots on target Portsmouth 2Oxford United 2 Shots off target Portsmouth 2Oxford United 4 Blocked shots Portsmouth 5Oxford United 1 Total touches in the box Portsmouth 17Oxford United 13 Goalkeeper saves Portsmouth 2Oxford United 2 Aerial duels won Portsmouth 9Oxford United 10 Fouls Portsmouth 6Oxford United 3 Corners Portsmouth 7Oxford United 3
