Tranmere vs Portsmouth Predictions

• Only Southend have a home record that is worse than Tranmere’s in League 1 this term.
• Only Southend have conceded more home goals than Tranmere in League 1 this season.
• Only Doncaster have conceded less shots on target than Portsmouth away from home this season.

Hosts out of form at home

Tranmere are struggling, there’s no other way of putting it. Their moments of promise are becoming less and less, as are their goals. Rovers are now without a win since December 21^st, which means that they’re winless in eight League 1 matches, six of which they’ve lost.

A lack of defensive strength is a big problem for Tranmere, who’ve conceded two or more in five of their last eight, but even bigger is their problem in the final third. Micky Mellon’s side still looked weak back in December, but they were scoring goals on a reasonably regular basis. That is no longer the case. Tranmere haven’t scored in any of their last three, while they’ve notched just one goal in their last five. Therein lies the problem.

Portsmouth firing on all cylinders

While Tranmere seem to be heading towards relegation at a fair old speed, Portsmouth are going the other way. For a long time, it looked as though Kenny Jackett’s men would fall someway short of the play-off places, though they’ve darted into the top six thanks to a string of recent wins.

Pompey have won each of their last four league matches, scoring seven goals and conceding just one in the process. They’re also now unbeaten in five and have won six of their last eight. Avoiding defeat is something that Portsmouth have got better and better at as the season has gone on. They’ve lost just two of their last 16 matches in the third division. Jackett’s men have also tightened up defensively on the road of late, avoiding defeat in each of their last three, surrendering just a single goal in the process.

Visitors to continue thriving

In the betting, ‘Portsmouth to Win & Over 1.5 Goals’ looks an option. The hosts are simply not operating at the same level as Pompey right now, while they’ve faced some top opposition at home of late and have fared poorly, losing and conceding two or more against Coventry, Ipswich and Doncaster. Such form does not point towards the hosts doing well against the team that has been flying of late. Pompey have proved not only that they can get the job done of late, but they’ve also proved their scoring credentials, notching twice in three of their last four. The visitors are also League 1’s second-best team when it comes to conceding shots on target on the road, so they can certainly restrict teams.