Portsmouth v Blackburn Rovers: survival scrap as hosts seek lift, visitors lean on away form | OneFootball

Portsmouth host Blackburn Rovers in the Championship at Fratton Park on Saturday, 13 December, with the hosts in the relegation places and the visitors just above them. Blackburn have travelled well this season, while Portsmouth need points to halt a slide.

Blackburn have won three of the past four meetings, though Portsmouth edged the last Fratton Park league game 1-0 in March 2025.

John Mousinho's side have lost four of their past five league matches, beating Millwall in between. Valérien Ismaël's team are unbeaten in three after draws with Wrexham, Ipswich and Oxford, following a win at Preston and a defeat to QPR.

Injuries bite on both back lines. Portsmouth are without defenders Connor Ogilvie, Regan Poole, Conor Shaughnessy, Josh Knight, Zak Swanson and Jacob Farrell, with forwards Franco Umeh-Chibueze and Thomas Waddingham also sidelined. Blackburn miss defenders Scott Wharton and Hayden Carter, plus Adam Forshaw, Sondre Trondstad, Ryan Hedges, Augustus Kargbo and goalkeeper Balazs Toth.

Pompey have scored 15 league goals at 0.8 per game and conceded 26, but they have kept five clean sheets. Rovers have 20 goals and four clean sheets, with 19 of those strikes coming from inside the box, so close-range chances may be their route. Andri Gudjohnsen has six league goals, while Joshua Murphy and Ryoya Morishita provide service with four and three assists respectively.

A home win would move Portsmouth to 20 points and could narrow the gap to safety. Victory for Blackburn would take them to 25 and may pull them further from the bottom three.