It has been 13 years since David Norris struck that last-gasp St Mary's leveller to earn Pompey a Championship draw against their rivals. That was the last time they faced Southampton in a league contest, but the much anticipiated south coast derby returns on Sunday (12pm kick-off). John Mousinho's side are currently five places and two points better off than their hosts, albeit with only four matches played so far. Their opponents are looking to bounce back from last season's top-flight relegation and began by scoring a couple of late goals to seal a dramatic victory over Wrexham. But Will Still's men followed that up with draws on the road at Ipswich and Watford, which sandwiched a home defeat by Stoke. They are, however, well on their way to beating their meagre tally of 12 points collected in the entire 2024/25 campaign – the second lowest in Premier League history. Southampton were, like Pompey, busy in the summer transfer window, with their incomings including the experienced Championship duo of Finn Azaz and Tom Fellows. Prior to that aforementioned 2-2 stalemate – with Chris Maguire also finding the target – in 2012, the Blues also triumphed on their previous visit to St Mary's. Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Aruna Dindane, Nadir Belhadj and Jamie O'Hara all netted in a 4-1 rout in the FA Cup fifth round in February 2010, en route to reaching the final. TEAM NEWS Pompey will be without Harvey Blair (hamstring) and Callum Lang (hamstring), although Marlon Pack has returned to training following a knee injury. Josef Bursik, Conor Chaplin, Makenzie Kirk and Franco Umeh will all be hoping to feature after completing deadline day switches to the south coast. Gavin Bazunu could feature against his former club for the hosts, who are without Brazilian full-back Welington (ankle). VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM Read the thoughts of John Mousinho and Conor Shaughnessy ahead of the big game. HEAD TO HEAD* Overall Pompey: 9 wins Southampton: 20 wins 10 draws On the Road Pompey: 11 wins Southampton: 5 wins 5 draws Last Away Meeting Southampton 2 (Sharp 2) Pompey 2 (Maguire, Norris) Championship April 7 2012 *Premier/Football League, FA Cup, League Cup games only TICKETS & TRAVEL Pompey have sold their full allocation of tickets and none will be available to purchase at St Mary's on the day of the game. Click here for the full information on club-managed travel to the game and please check the emails that have been sent, confirming your pick-up location and coach number. OFFICIALS Referee: Matthew Donohue Assistants: Richard Woodward and Jacob Graham Fourth Official: Stephen Martin Donohue last took charge of Pompey when they were beaten 2-1 by Plymouth on home soil back in March, showing a red card to Argyle's Matthew Sorinola late on. He has been in the middle for three games so far this season, booking 13 players and sending off Sheffield Wednesday's Barry Bannan. MATCH COVERAGE Supporters in the UK can watch the game live on Sky Sports Football, ITV1 or via the Sky Sports+ app. The game is available for international broadcast, including on Paramount+ in the USA. It will only be available to stream on Pompey+ in unsold international markets. Click here for more information. The pre-match show is live before the game for all Pompey+ subscribers and overseas fans with a video subscription/match pass. George Wedlake will be joined in the Fratton Park studio by Gareth Evans and Danny Rose. 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.
Pompey fans about to depart Fratton Park, on their way to the forces of darkness!! please log in to view this image
For Pompey, Conor Chaplin makes his debut, playing just behind Colby Bishop, and new young striker Mackenzie Kirk is named on the bench. For the Saints, ex-Pompey loanee Gavin Bazunu is in goal for them!
Half time. 0-0 score, but Pompey have controlled the game so far, with Andre Dozzell hitting the crossbar with a shot from outside the box. We have had seven shots to their three. We lost keeper Nico Schmid with a wrist injury, replaced by Ben Killip in the 26th minute. Bookings for Zak Swanson and Taylor Harwood-Bellis for fouls. Josh Murphy has been brilliant on the left wing, producing some superb crosses into the box.
Half Time Match Stats:- Overall possession Southampton 48.8%Portsmouth 51.2% Shots Southampton 3Portsmouth 7 Shots on target Southampton 1Portsmouth 0 Total touches inside the opposition box Southampton 6Portsmouth 7 Goalkeeper saves Southampton 0Portsmouth 1 Fouls committed Southampton 7Portsmouth 8 Corners Southampton 2Portsmouth 3
Saints could well be up for a large fine from the EFL! Firstly, a missile thrown by a stupid home fan at Josh Murphy whilst he was preparing to take a corner kick. Secondly for when a thug home fan ran onto the pitch. What an idiot
We'll take that! We were excellent first half and they dominated most of the second half. Fair result. Thought we were a bit wasteful up top but I put that down to the occasion.
Final whistle. 0-0 draw. Saints were better in the second half, but we defended really well. Missed Nico Schmid, but Ben Killip played ok. Just hope that Schmid's wrist injury isn't too serious. Conor Ogilvie injured as well, with blood seeping from a huge lump on his forehead. Good point for us though. Josh Murphy surely man of the match?
Final Match Stats:- Overall possession Southampton 59.6%Portsmouth 40.4% Shots Southampton 9Portsmouth 11 Shots on target Southampton 1Portsmouth 1 Total touches inside the opposition box Southampton 20Portsmouth 13 Goalkeeper saves Southampton 1Portsmouth 1 Fouls committed Southampton 16Portsmouth 14 Corners Southampton 7Portsmouth 5 Yellow cards Southampton 5*Portsmouth2 (* incl. Saints manager Will Still)
I'd have bitten your hand off at the offer of a draw before kickoff. In the end I was disappointed to be level at half time but, at 0-0 I was then relieved to be level at the final whistle
please log in to view this image What John Mousinho said about Schmid and Ogilvie collision: At the final whistle, Mosuinho said Schmid might have fractured a bone in his right hand, while Ogilvie had a significant neck injury. He also admitted he was disappointed with how Donohue dealt with the matter. When asked about the incident by Sky Sports, the Blues boss said: ‘Yeah, a real blow. I thought it was a really, really poor challenge. ‘It doesn't look like a huge amount, but everybody in the stadium can see that the goalkeeper's coming out, particularly the Southampton player. ‘He decides to push Connor Ogilvie into the goalkeeper, and I've got two players that are injured and one to go to hospital. ‘So, I thought (it was) a really, really poor challenge and poorly dealt with. ‘We've got a significant neck injury for Connor Ogilvie and a possible fracture for Nico Schmidt. ‘So, in a challenge that is just really obvious, (it) can be avoided. The Southampton player just pushes Connor Ogilvie into Nico Schmid. There's no need for it, but nothing comes of it. So, you can probably see I was clearly upset by that. And not the consequence of it, because I didn't know at the time. I was very upset at the time about the challenge.’ When asked if he had spoken to the match official, Mousinho added: ‘I'm going to go and speak to him in 14 minutes!’
