Portsmouth FC must avoid doing one difficult thing against Southampton - Will Still record shows why | OneFootball

The Saints have scored four goals from set-pieces in their opening Championship games

Portsmouth FC face arguably their biggest test of the Championship season so far when they visit St Mary's to take on Southampton in the South Coast Derby on Sunday.

The fixture marks the first league meeting between the fierce rivals in 13 years, and Will Still's Saints have a unique threat that John Mousinho's side may find difficult to contain.

Even though the intense nature of the game makes this virtually impossible to avoid, Pompey simply cannot afford to give away free-kicks in dangerous areas - FLW takes a look at why.

Portsmouth face big Southampton threat by way of set-pieces

The stats surrounding Southampton's strong early-season record with set-pieces could be a little worrying from a Portsmouth perspective.

Still's squad have scored four goals from set-pieces in their opening Championship games, which includes the two free-kicks scored by Ireland international Ryan Manning.

Manning's 90th-minute equaliser against Wrexham on opening day sparked Saints' comeback, and then he netted the first of two free-kicks within three second-half minutes against Watford - Nestory Irankunda scored the second for the Hornets.

The other two set-piece goals for the Saints came from corners. Taylor Harwood-Bellis nodded home against Stoke City, and then Cameron Archer latched onto a loose ball that was originally delivered by Manning in the Watford match.

Still has developed an evironment where every player believes they can make a difference, with Manning stating after beating Wrexham, " He's (Still) just constantly going on about how it's a group effort.

"I think it's just about building such a good culture, such a good environment that we can keep pushing to the end and everyone believes that we can come back," Manning added.

Despite Manning only starting one game prior to the international break, he has created the most chances in the division, with 12.

John Mousinho has revealed past frustration this season with Portsmouth conceding set-pieces

There's no denying that the passionate nature of the South Coast Derby will make things difficult for Portsmouth to not concede set-pieces in dangerous areas, given the game is highly likely to be aggressive.

Also, Mousinho has revealed previous frustrations with Pompey letting in set-piece goals already this season.

After the Norwich loss at Fratton Park in August, where they conceded two, Mousinho told BBC Radio Solent, "There wasn't a huge amount in the game apart from being really poor around some of the set pieces.

"We apologetically defended the first one to allow (Harry) Darling to have a free header in the box and that isn't good enough," he claimed.

Speaking ahead of the game on the 5th September, Still himself has acknowledged that tactics may go out the window, but this could actually work against Portsmouth.

"The tactical element of it, yes, plays a part, but on the day itself it's just about who wants it more," Still said.

So, while the atmosphere might disrupt both teams' usual discipline when it comes to tactics, it surely increases the likelihood that players will commit fouls in dangerous areas.

Given the Saints have proved to be very dangerous at set-pieces so far this season and Pompey have had difficulties defending them, there's perhaps more reason for the latter to try and avoid unnecessary fouls.

However, with just how much they hate each other, that is going to be an almost impossible task.