Pompey will look to extend their festive cheer when they make the trip up to Vicarage Road to face Watford on Boxing Day (3pm kick-off). They go into the contest sitting outside the Championship drop zone following a thumping home victory over Coventry at the weekend. There was not quite so much joy to be found for their next opponents, who were beaten 2-1 at high-flying Burnley. That result leaves Tom Cleverley's side in eighth position, but just a single point outside the play-off places and with a game in hand. Fans will be looking for a vast improvement on last season, when the Hornets finished down in 15th spot and much neaere to the bottom three than the top six. But their current standing should provide hope that a return to the Premier League after three years away is still an achievable goal. This will be the first meeting between the two clubs since the 2011/12 campaign, when each won 2-0 on their own patch. Goals from Márkó Futács and Hayden Mullins saw the Blues come out on top at Fratton Park early in the new year. TEAM NEWS Harvey Blair (knee), Jacob Farrell (knee), Conor Shaughnessy (calf), Mark O'Mahony (hip), Regan Poole (hamstring), Jordan Williams (hamstring) and Kusini Yengi (knee) are all sidelined for Pompey. Ibane Bowat is also set to miss the the rest of the season with a serious knee injury, but Elias Sørensen and Abdoulaye Kamara are available after sitting out the Coventry game through illness and a knock respectively. Tom Dele-Bashiru (knee) and Kévin Keben (knee) are both currently absent for the Hornets, although Angelo Ogbonna has returned from a hamstring problem. VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM Read the thoughts of John Mousinho and Ryley Towler ahead of the big game. HEAD TO HEAD Overall Pompey: 21 wins Watford: 18 wins 12 draws On the Road Pompey: 5 wins Watford: 13 wins 8 draws Last Away Meeting Watford 2 (Kightly, Sordell) Pompey 0 Championship November 19 2011 TICKETS Pompey have sold their full allocation of tickets and none will be able to purchase at Vicarage Road on the day of the game. Click here to read a guide to visiting the ground that has been produced by the home club. OFFICIALS Referee: Geoff Eltringham Assistants: Greg Read and Bhupinder Singh Gill Fourth Official: Paul Johnson Eltringham last took charge of Pompey when they were beaten 3-0 at Bolton in League One in January 2023, shortly before John Mousinho took charge. He showed a solitary yellow card to Joe Morrell. 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+ (also available on Paramount+ in the USA), 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 Mark Kelly and Paul Robinson. 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.
Watford Starting Line Up:- Number1, D. Bachmann (c), Captain Number37, Y. Larouci Number6, M. Pollock Number5, R. Porteous Number2, J. Ngakia Number22, J. Morris Number34, K. Baah Number10, I. Louza Number39, E. Kayembe Number8, G. Chakvetadze Number18, D. Jebbison Substitutes:- Number45, R. Andrews Number19, V. Bayo Number23, J. Bond Number14, P. Dwomoh Number36, F. Ebosele Number7, T. Ince Number3, F. Sierralta Number17, M. Sissoko Number11, R. Vata
Josh Murphy swings in a fine cross and Porteous does just enough to put Callum Lang off so he shoots wide of the post. 8 minutes.
0-1 to Pompey. Morris makes a mess of dealing with a Josh Murphy cross ,and Zak Swanson hits a sweet angled shot into the bottom corner. 10 minutes.
Josh Murphy right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right following a corner. 16 minutes.
Half time score is 0-1. Good first half, with a first Championship goal for right back Zak Swanson to give us a well deserved lead. We have defended well when needed. Should be an interesting second half !
So far so good! The longer we hold on to a one goal lead the better get our chances of scoring on the break!
Half Time Match Stats:- Overall possession Watford 70.1%Portsmouth 29.9% Shots Watford 6Portsmouth 3 Shots on target Watford 2Portsmouth 1 Total touches inside the box Watford 18Portsmouth 4 Goalkeeper saves Watford 0Portsmouth 2 0 Fouls Watford 5Portsmouth 4 Corners Watford 6Portsmouth 2
Second half is underway. Pompey unchanged, but Watford bring on Rocco Vata for James Morris, whose mistake led to Zak Swanson scoring.
1-1 now with a penalty given by the referee. Controversy here as Chakvetadze goes down under Potts' challenge and after discussions with his assistant, the penalty is awarded. Replays appear to show the challenge took place outside the box. Penalty scored by E. Kayembe. 57 minutes.
