Portsmouth vs Southend Predictions

Struggling Southend travel to the south coast to take on Portsmouth at Fratton Park on Tuesday evening, as they go in search of a first win in seven league games. Pompey will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run, which stands currently at three.

Portsmouth’s very slow ascent continued at the weekend, as they drew with high-flying Oxford at this venue. Kenny Jackett’s men have now gone three games without tasting defeat, which is pleasing, but they’re yet to look like serious promotion challengers. Fortunately, this home match against a Southend side that looks destined for relegation presents the hosts with a huge opportunity to resume winning ways.

It’s not been a great campaign for Pompey, but they continue to be strong at home. Seven home matches have yielded zero losses for Jackett’s side. They have only won three of those seven, but from a performance point of view, it’s safe to say that Portsmouth have looked useful on their own patch. They’ve created more than their opponents in each of their home games, while they’ve been superior in terms of both shots and shots on target in six out of seven. What’s more, Pompey, who’ve kept four clean sheets and have conceded less goals than games played at home, have looked sturdy at the back.

As for Southend, well, the slump continued at the weekend, as they were beaten by a goal to nil at Sunderland. The Shrimpers did manage to avoid another drubbing, conceding less than three goals for the first time since Sol Campbell was handed the reigns, but they didn’t exactly play well in doing so. Poor finishing cost the Black Cats a second goal, while Southend never really looked like getting something from the game.

It may well be that Campbell, who pulled off the great escape after taking over a struggling Macclesfield side in League 2 last season, turns it around at Southend, but it looks as though it’s going to be a long old slog before real improvements are visible.

From a betting point of view, this fixture is somewhat unappealing. On paper, Pompey look to be very likely winners, but the market is all too aware of that. For those interested in getting involved, ‘Portsmouth to Win & Under 2.5 Goals’ might just be worth a dabble. They look far from being an improved side, but Southend did do a much better job of keeping themselves in the contest against Sunderland, even if they were deserving of a defeat. Moreover, for all Portsmouth are a better side than Southend and for all they’ve looked good at home, they’ve not often excelled in terms of goals scored, scoring more than twice in just one out of seven at home. On this basis, a low-scoring home win stands out as the best option.