Pompey will be looking to make the most of away comforts when they make the trip up to Birmingham on Saturday (3pm kick-off). There have been successive losses at Fratton Park to Coventry and Stoke, while John Mousinho's men have so far been beaten just once on the road. Their next opponents are the reigning League One champions – a title they inherited from the Blues in some style. City collected a Football League high of 111 points on their way to securing the crown, which was 19 more than runners-up Wrexham. They also smashed the League One transfer record by paying a reported fee of more than £10 million to sign striker Jay Stansfield from Fulham. And boss Chris Davies was allowed to splash the cash again over the summer to bring in the likes of Kyōgo Furuhashi and Demarai Gray. They are currently sitting 15th in the Championship standings – two points better off than Pompey – and have won just one of their past six games. Ellis Harrison bagged a brace and Ben Close was also on target in a 3-0 victory when the sides last met for a Carbao Cup contest on the south coast in the summer of 2019. The most recent league contests came in the 2011/12 Championship campaign, with a 1-0 loss at St Andrew's followed by 4-1 Fratton success, courtesy of goals from Chris Maguire, David Norris, Kelvin Etuhu and Márkó Futács. TEAM NEWS Pompey are missing Callum Lang (hamstring), Nicolas Schmid (hand), Adrian Segečić (ankle), Conor Shaughnessy (hamstring), Franco Umeh (hamstring) and Thomas Waddingham (thigh). Josh Murphy could start after coming off the bench against Stoke last Saturday, while John Swift is available after being suspended for that game. Harvey Blair (hamstring) and Jacob Farrell (groin) are both back in training, but not yet ready to be available for selection. Lee Buchanan (knee), Ethan Laird (hamstring), Willum Willumson (undisclosed) and Scott Wright (knee) are all absent for Birmingham. VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM Read the thoughts of John Mousinho and Marlon Pack ahead of the big game. please log in to view this image HEAD TO HEAD Overall Pompey: 30 wins Birmingham: 42 wins 25 draws At St Andrew's Pompey: 11 wins Birmingham: 30 wins 9 draws Last Away Meeting Birmingham 1 (Redmond) Pompey 0 Championship February 7 2012 TICKETS Pompey have sold their full allocation of 2,000 tickets and none will be available to purchase at St Andrew's on the day of the game. Saturday is Birmingham's dedicated Remembrance fixture. Click here for details on what is happening ahead of kick-off. OFFICIALS Referee: Andrew Kitchen Assistants: Shaun Hudson and Paul Hodskinson Fourth Official: Leigh Doughty Kitchen took charge of Pompey as recently as last month, when they were beaten 2-1 at Ipswich, booking three players – two of them members of the Blues side. He has been in the middle for 10 games so far this season, showing 26 yellow cards, but keeping the red one in his pocket. MATCH COVERAGE Overseas fans can watch all the action live on Pompey+ (also available on Paramount+ in the USA), either through a monthly/annual subscription or by purchasing a match pass. George Wedlake will be joined in the Fratton Park studio by Paul Hardyman and Mark Kelly. 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 the half-time and post-match shows are only available to watch 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 have dropped both Colby Bishop and Conor Chaplin to the subs bench, and replaced them with Makenzie Kirk and Mark Kosznovszky. Connor Ogilvie out, presumably injured(?). Ibane Bowat and Hayden Matthews are the centre back pairing, and Josh Murphy starts on the bench.
John Swift's free kick for Portsmouth from outside the box narrowly misses, going across the face of goal and behind.
Half time whistle. 1-0 down, but after a terrible start to the match, we have come back into the game, and look much sharper. We need Josh Murphy on for the second half, with Yang switching to the right wing.
Half Time Match Stats:- Overall possession Birmingham City 44.1%Portsmouth 55.9% Shots Birmingham City 11Portsmouth 2 Shots on target Birmingham City 3Portsmouth 0 Total touches inside the opposition box Birmingham City 17Portsmouth 10 Goalkeeper saves Birmingham City 0Portsmouth 2 Aerial duels won Birmingham City 15Portsmouth 10 Fouls committed Birmingham City 7Portsmouth 5 Corners Birmingham City 5Portsmouth 1
Pompey triple sub: Josh Murphy on for Min-Hyeok Yang; Colby Bishop for Makenzie Kirk, and Zak Swanson on for Ibane Bowat. 53 minutes.
