Portsmouth vs Shrewsbury Predictions

• Portsmouth are the only League 1 team to still be unbeaten at home this season.
• Only three League 1 teams have a better home goals difference than Portsmouth.
• Only two League 1 teams have scored fewer travelling goals than Shrewsbury this season.

Fratton fortress

Portsmouth come into this match off the back of a narrow loss away at Coventry, though that defeat is unlikely to have dented the confidence levels of Kenny Jackett’s men too much. After all, they’d won five on the bounce prior to Tuesday’s defeat, while after a rocky start to the campaign, they’re now back where they want to be among the promotion contenders.

In contrast to last season, where Portsmouth were in the top four throughout, they’ve come from off the pace to lay down a play-off challenge. Perhaps this will see them fare better, as they’ve hit form in the second half of the campaign this time around as opposed to the first half.

As far as this match goes, Pompey have a massive opportunity to put another three points on the road. Shrewsbury have struggled somewhat on the road, while Jackett’s side have been very strong at home, winning nine and drawing five of their matches at Fratton Park. They’ve scored no shortage of goals, notching two or more in nine of those 15, while they’ve often given little away, keeping seven clean sheets.

Wins few and far between for Shrews

While home comforts have suited Portsmouth this term, Shrewsbury have found it tough to be at their best on the road, especially going forward. Sam Rickett’s men are not easy to beat, that’s for sure, but a lack of travelling goals has meant that they’ve often narrowly lost out away from home.

Shrewsbury come into this match without an away since December, while they’ve won just one of their last nine travelling matches. During that time, they’ve conceded a very respectable nine goals, keeping four clean sheets, but they’ve scored just four goals, failing to score on six occasions. Therein lies the problem.

Hosts to do the business

Shrewsbury are no easy team to beat, a quick glance at results shows that, but their lack of goals is a real worry ahead of this match. In the betting, ‘Portsmouth to Win & Under 3.5 Goals’. The Shrews may be tough to get at, while they’ve failed to score in five away matches against teams currently in the top eight. Moreover, Pompey have done the business against better teams at home, while their numbers, in a variety of areas, are just superior to Shrewsbury’s. That said, we certainly shouldn’t expect the hosts to run riot. For all Jackett’s men have scored regular goals at home, they’ve not often gone mad, scoring more than twice in just three of their 15 matches. Add in Shrewsbury’s lack of goals and the fact that they’re good at avoiding heavy beatings and a low-scoring home win appeals, even more so when we consider than less than four goals have been scored in 79% of the pair’s combined matches this term.