Portsmouth vs Rochdale Predictions

• Portsmouth are the only League 1 team to still be unbeaten at home this season.
• Only four League 1 teams have conceded more travelling goals than Rochdale this term.
• Only Wycombe have won more home games than Portsmouth in League 1 this season.

Fratton fortress

Having hit something of a bump in the road away at Fleetwood, promotion chasers Portsmouth bounced back last time out, beating MK Dons by three goals to one in front of a Fratton Park crowd that is getting more and more used to seeing their side do the business.

The winning feeling is something that has become increasingly familiar to Kenny Jackett’s men at home, where they’ve won each of their last nine in all competitions. In the league, Pompey have become very good at both hurting teams offensively and restricting them at the other end. They’ve scored at least twice in each of their last five League 1 matches at Fratton Park, while they’ve kept three clean sheets during that time. Portsmouth have also conceded more than once in none of their last six home matches. Additionally, they’re League 1’s fifth best team when it comes to goals conceded per 90, shipping an average of 0.80. At the other end, they average 1.87.

Dale dodgy on the road

While Portsmouth continue to thrive at home, Rochdale are finding it tougher and tougher to get going on the road. Brian Barry-Murphy’s men are without a travelling win since New Year’s Day. They’ve since lost three and drawn one of their four away matches, conceding eight and scoring three in the process.

Scoring goals hasn’t been too much of a problem for Rochdale, who’ve notched 20 in 17 away games, though their attacking output seems to have thinned out of late. Dale failed to score last time out on the road, while they’ve not scored more than once away from home since the first game of 2020.

Another big problem that Rochdale have is that they’re consistently being outperformed in terms of both shots and shots on target. Friday’s visitors average 10.12 shots for away from home, while they concede an average of 17.06. They average 3.18 shots on target for and 5.71 against.

Visitors can be dismissed

Based on what we’ve seen from this pair of late, it’s quite clear that they’re moving in opposite directions. Therefore, the hosts are hard to oppose. The bet that stands out is ‘Portsmouth Win to Nil’. Rochdale have an appalling record against the current top ten, losing seven out of eight. They’ve scored in four of those eight, but were typically weak offensively when recently visiting Sunderland, who they failed to score against. They also mustered just two shots in that game. Going to Fratton Park is arguably a slightly tougher test than visiting Stadium of Light, so it’s not difficult to see the visitors falling short offensively. Consider also that Portsmouth have kept a clean sheet in four of their last six at home, alongside the fact that they’re one of the best in the division when it comes to shots conceded at home, and backing the hosts to keep a clean sheet on route to winning yet another home game appeals.