Match Preview: Leicester City vs Portsmouth
After dropping out of the Premier League last season, Leicester City appear well-positioned to mount a serious promotion challenge in the Championship. The Foxes have made a solid start, collecting four wins, four draws, and just one defeat from their opening nine league games.
Marti Cifuentes’ side began the campaign brightly with three victories in their first four matches before stalling slightly during a run of four consecutive draws. However, they rediscovered their rhythm before the international break, securing a 3-1 win away to Swansea City thanks to goals from Jordan James, Abdul Fatawu, and Jannik Vestergaard.
That result stretched Leicester’s unbeaten run to seven league fixtures and kept them within striking distance of the top two — sitting two points behind Middlesbrough and three off leaders Coventry City.
At home, the Foxes have been tough to beat, earning eight points from four outings at the King Power Stadium, and they remain one of only seven teams yet to lose on home soil this season.
This weekend marks their first meeting with Portsmouth in 14 years, and Leicester will be eager to preserve their unbeaten home record. The Foxes haven’t defeated Pompey in the league since a 3-1 success back in May 2004.
Portsmouth, who finished 16th last season, currently occupy 14th place with 12 points from nine matches. John Mousinho’s side snapped a four-game winless streak just before the break, earning a vital 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough courtesy of a strike from Tottenham loanee Yang Min-hyeok, which handed Boro their first defeat of the season.
Mousinho will now aim for consecutive wins for the first time this campaign, though his team faces a tough challenge away from home, having failed to win in their last three league trips.
Pompey’s attack has struggled for consistency, scoring only eight goals in nine matches, while Leicester have been solid defensively — conceding just twice in four home fixtures. Still, Portsmouth can take encouragement from their history against the Foxes, scoring in each of their last six visits and avoiding defeat in their last four head-to-head meetings (W2, D2).
Team News
Leicester remain without Harry Souttar through injury, while Stephy Mavididi is a doubt after missing the win over Swansea. If there are no fresh issues after the international break, Cifuentes could opt to stick with the same lineup. Aaron Ramsey is also available again after serving a three-match suspension.
For Portsmouth, Nicolas Schmid, Jacob Farrell, Conor Shaughnessy, Callum Lang, Franco Umeh, and Thomas Waddingham are all sidelined. Josh Murphy is nearing a return from an ankle injury but is unlikely to feature this weekend. Meanwhile, Adrian Segecic will be pushing for a starting place after two substitute appearances before the break.
Leicester City predicted lineup:
Stolarczyk; Pereira, Faes, Vestergaard, Thomas; James, Winks; Fatawu, De Cordova-Reid, Monga; Daka
Portsmouth predicted lineup:
Bursik; Williams, Knight, Poole, Ogilvie; Pack, Dozzell; Segecic, Chaplin, Yang; Bishop
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