Preview | Portsmouth (H)
The Game
Argyle v Portsmouth. Home Park. Tuesday, 5 November. 8pm. Sky Bet Championship.
The Opposition
Portsmouth are bottom of the Championship table, with nine points from their 13 games so far.
Promoted from League One last season, as champions, Portsmouth began life back in the second-tier with a very creditable trio of draws: 3-3 at Leeds United, 0-0 at home to Luton Town, and 2-2 at Middlesbrough.
The next three games were all losses, however, as Pompey fell at home to Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion, then were defeated at Burnley.
A draw at home to Sheffield United preceded a huge defeat at Stoke City, where the Potters beat Pompey 6-1. Next, Portsmouth drew 0-0 at home to Oxford United, before picking their only win of the season so far, 2-1 at Queens Park Rangers.
Since then, the Blues have lost 2-0 at Cardiff City, 2-1 at home to Sheffield Wednesday and, on Saturday, drew 1-1 at Hull City.
The Gaffer
Becoming the boss at Portsmouth is John Mousinho’s first job in management, and he has taken to it like a duck to the Solent.
He took over at Fratton Park in January 2023, with Portsmouth in 15th, but he rallied them to eighth, giving confidence for the following season. That confidence was well-placed, as Pompey won League One with 97 points, sealing a return to the English second tier.
As a player, Mousinho featured notably for Brentford, Wycombe Wanderers, Stevenage and Preston North End, before playing over 100 times for Burton Albion and Oxford United. During his time with the latter, he was elected as chairman of the Professional Football Association.
The Squad
No-one has played in all 13 of Portsmouth’s games this season. Connor Ogilvie has come the closest, starting 12 of them. The left-sided defender began his career at Tottenham Hotspur, but after loans at Stevenage and Gillingham, he joined the latter on a permanent basis in 2019. After racking up 171 appearances for the Gills, he moved to Portsmouth in 2021 and has featured 129 times for them.
Next highest on the appearances chart, with 11 starts and one substitute appearance, is Marlon Pack (below). Now 33, Pack started his career at Portsmouth, signing professionally in 2008, when the club were in the Premier League. He had loans out, but failed to break through at Fratton, instead moving to Cheltenham Town, then to Bristol City, where he truly made his name. He played 283 times for the Robins, then had three years at Cardiff City before returning home to Portsmouth in June 2022.
Leading Portsmouth’s goals tally with four from his ten games this season is Callum Lang. Likely to play in the number 10 position off a lone frontman, Lang got two goals in the opening game of the season, at Leeds, and then notched against Burnley and QPR. Liverpudlian Lang started his professional career at Wigan Athletic, and after gaining experience on loan at Morecambe, Oldham Athletic, Shrewsbury Town and Motherwell, played 143 times for Wigan, mostly in League One. He signed for Portsmouth in the January transfer window of 2024.
Most Recent Meetings
Portsmouth and Argyle last met in the 2022/23 season. At Fratton Park, with both sides high in the table at the time, the game finished 2-2. Argyle’s goals came from an own goal and a strike by Niall Ennis. At the time, it was a fourth 2-2 draw in five meetings between the sides.
At Home Park, in February 2023, Argyle won 3-1, with goals coming from Finn Azaz, Sam Cosgrove and Ryan Hardie.
Tickets
The game is sold out for home supporters. If you have a season ticket and cannot attend the match, you can make your ticket available via the Ticket Exchange and receive face value credit if your ticket is resold. Find out more about the Ticket Exchange.
Argyle TV
Argyle TV’s coverage will begin at 7.30pm, with the pre-match show, live on YouTube from pitchside, hosted by Erin Black and Katie Middleton. Commentary for the game will be provided by Charlie Price and Ian Stonebridge.
Match passes to watch this game are available to international audiences and can be purchased here.
Sky Sports
The game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Football.
Remembrance Day
Argyle’s Remembrance Day commemorations will take place at the Portsmouth fixture. You can find more details of that, here.
