Pompey welcome Norwich to Fratton Park for the first home Championship fixture of the 2025/26 campaign on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off). John Mousinho's men will be looking to build on their victory at Oxford – courtesy of Adrian Segečić's debut goal – on the opening day. But there was to be no triumphant start for Liam Manning in his first game in charge of the Canaries, as they went down 2-1 to Millwall at Carrow Road. Josh Sargent had cancelled out Camiel Neghli’s opener, only for Macaulay Langstaff to hit a late winner for the Lions. They did, however, recover from that setback with a 2-1 success at Watford in the Carabao Cup a few days later, with Sargent and Marcelino Núñez on target. Manning was appointed head coach of his hometown club over the summer, having taken Bristol City to the play-offs last term. He will be looking to take Norwich into the top six after a poor end to the 2024/25 season saw them finish in 13th position. That included a 5-3 defeat to Pompey in Norfolk on Good Friday, with boss Johannes Hoff Thorup departing just a few days later. The most recent south coast contest between the clubs was a goalless affair last December, while City's last win at Fratton Park in May 2011 sealed their promotion to the Premier League. TEAM NEWS Pompey will be without Harvey Blair (hamstring) and Marlon Pack (knee), while Josh Murphy (hamstring) is unlikely to feature. The visitors are currently missing Amankwah Forson (hamstring) Lucien Mahovo (knee) and Kenny McLean (ankle). VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM Read the thoughts of John Mousinho ahead of the big game. please log in to view this image HEAD TO HEAD Overall Pompey: 22 wins Norwich: 24 wins 16 draws At Fratton Park Pompey: 13 wins Norwich: 10 wins 7 draws Last Home Meeting Pompey 0 Norwich 0 Championship December 10 2024 TICKETS There are just a handful of tickets that remain on sale, while the ticket exchange remains open until two hours before kick-off. Click here to read our matchday guide and find out what is happening around the ground ahead of the game. OFFICIALS Referee: Stephen Martin Assistants: Robert Hyde and Hristo Karaivanov Fourth Official: Ben Atkinson Martin last took charge of Pompey when they beat Bolton 3-1 in a League One contest at Fratton Park in February 2023, booking two Blues players and four from the visitors. He was referee 33 times in total last season, brandishing 121 yellow cards and just one red to Luton's Kal Naismith. MATCH COVERAGE Supporters in the UK can watch the game live via the Sky Sports+ app. Those based overseas can see all the action on Pompey+, either through a monthly/annual subscription or by purchasing a match pass. George Wedlake will be joined by Paul Hardyman and Mark Kelly in the Fratton Park studio, with a guest appearance from skipper Marlon Pack. 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 IAndrew 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.
Norwich City Starting Line Up:- Number1, V. Kovačević Number33, J. Córdoba Number6, H. Darling Number5, J. Medić Number19, P. Diallo Number22, M. Topić Number26, M. Núñez Number3, J. Stacey Number17, A. Crnac Number11, E. Marcondes Number9, J. Sargent (c), Captain Substitutes:- Number14, B. Chrisene Number30, M. Kvistgaarden Number35, K. Fisher Number8, L. Gibbs Number32, D. Grimshaw Number24, J. Makama Number27, J. Schlupp Number29, O. Schwartau Number16, J. Wright
Good news for Pompey, left winger Josh Murphy is fit to play! Possibly our best starting line up available. Not a bad bench either.
Final whistle 1-2 scoreline. We showed more spirit in the second half. Thought Norwich were a rather dirty aggressive team, with the somewhat poor referee turning a blind eye to a lot of their cheating and timewasting! Nice goal from Adrian Segecic (his second in two league games), he was by far our best player on the pitch. Josh Murphy was a bit off colour, but Florian Bianchini played well when he replaced him. It was he that won the penalty after he was blatantly kicked in the chest by a high boot by Fisher who (unsurprisingly) did not even receive a yellow card. Colby Bishop's penalty was saved by the keeper. In the final moments John Swift hit the underside of the crossbar with a volleyed effort from the edge of the box.
Must say that SkySports+ coverage is very good, apart from their choice of main commentator who was so biased towards Norwich that he only really started talking about Pompey players after we won the penalty. I ended up muting the sound so I could watch the match in peace (and control my rising blood pressure) !!
Final Match Stats:- Overall possession Portsmouth 57.8%Norwich City 42.2% Shots Portsmouth 19Norwich City 11 Shots on target Portsmouth 3Norwich City 5 Total touches inside the opposition box Portsmouth 30Norwich City 15 Goalkeeper saves Portsmouth 2Norwich City 2 Fouls committed Portsmouth 8Norwich City 13 Corners Portsmouth 9Norwich City 0
