What's behind Portsmouth vs Birmingham

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Portsmouth and Birmingham City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups. Portsmouth vs Birmingham has emerged this Saturday as one of the stories drawing attention in United Kingdom.

Key facts

• Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Portsmouth and Birmingham City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
• Birmingham City will wrap up the 2025-26 Championship campaign with a trip to Fratton Park for Saturday's clash with Portsmouth.
• Portsmouth have won their last two home league games, and given the fact that Birmingham have lost four of their previous five away matches, we think the hosts will come out on top on Saturday.
• By Ben Sully | 30 Apr 2026 23:20, Last updated: 01 May 2026 02:07.
• The two sides only have position to play for on matchday 46, with Pompey and Birmingham sitting in 18th and 10th place, respectively, in the Championship table.

What we know

Going deeper, Birmingham City will wrap up the 2025-26 Championship campaign with a trip to Fratton Park for Saturday's clash with Portsmouth.

On the substance, Portsmouth have won their last two home league games, and given the fact that Birmingham have lost four of their previous five away matches, we think the hosts will come out on top on Saturday.

Beyond the headlines, By Ben Sully | 30 Apr 2026 23:20, Last updated: 01 May 2026 02:07.

More precisely, the two sides only have position to play for on matchday 46, with Pompey and Birmingham sitting in 18th and 10th place, respectively, in the Championship table.

It is worth noting that Pompey fans will hope that Saturday's clash against Birmingham is not Mousinho's final game in the dugout, as the hosts look to claim their first victory on the final day of the season in one of the top two tiers since beating Middlesbrough 5-1 in 2003-04.

By the numbers

At this stage, Birmingham, meanwhile, are guaranteed a top-half finish after winning 17, drawing 12 and losing 16 of their 45 league games.

On a related note, while they currently have the joint third-best home record, Birmingham will head to Fratton Park with the league's joint third-worst away record, having collected just 19 points from their 22 road trips this season.

Going deeper, John Mousinho's side pulled off wins over promotion contenders Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town, before they beat struggling Leicester City 1-0 to make it three consecutive wins without conceding.

On the substance, Pompey's survival was officially sealed on the same night they fell to a heavy 5-1 away defeat to champions Coventry City.

The wider context

On a related note, Portsmouth are guaranteed a third consecutive season of Championship football after they effectively secured their survival with a run of three successive victories earlier this month.

Going deeper, Portsmouth will head into the final game of the season without the services of Terry Devlin, Zak Swanson, Mark Kosznovszky, Keshi Anderson, Gustavo Caballero and Franco Umeh.

On the substance, the south coast side returned to winning ways in last Saturday's trip to the Bet365 Stadium, which saw Adrian Segecic score his first Pompey hat-trick in a 3-1 victory over Stoke City.

Beyond the headlines, Chris Davies's side are at least on course to finish the season on a high after winning three of their previous four matches (D1).

More precisely, they followed a 2-0 win over Wrexham with a draw against Hull City, before they claimed back-to-back 2-1 home victories over Preston North End and Bristol City.

The bottom line

• The two sides only have position to play for on matchday 46, with Pompey and Birmingham sitting in 18th and 10th place, respectively, in the Championship table.
• While they currently have the joint third-best home record, Birmingham will head to Fratton Park with the league's joint third-worst away record, having collected just 19 points from their 22 road trips this season.
• The south coast side returned to winning ways in last Saturday's trip to the Bet365 Stadium, which saw Adrian Segecic score his first Pompey hat-trick in a 3-1 victory over Stoke City.