Portsmouthvs.Luton

Pompey began their Championship campaign with a 3-3 draw against Leeds United, while Luton fell to a heavy 4-1 defeat in their home meeting with Burnley.

Match preview

After spending 12 years in League One and Two, Pompey marked their return to the Championship with an entertaining 3-3 draw against Leeds at Elland Road.

Last season's League One champions thought they had snatched all three points through Callum Lang's 92nd-minute penalty, only to see Brenden Aaronson net a late equaliser to ensure they had to settle for a share of the spoils.

Pompey would have still been content with a hard-earned point, but they have been disappointed to fall to a narrow defeat in Tuesday's home clash against Millwall in the EFL Cup first round.

Millwall's Romain Esse netted the game's only goal of the game to condemn Portsmouth to a first-round exit for the first time since losing to the same opponent in August 2021.

With Portsmouth targeting all three points, they may be able to take confidence from the fact they have won both of their last two home games against Luton, including a 1-0 victory in their most recent home meeting in August 2018.

After suffering relegation from the Premier League last season, Luton's promotion bid got off to a disappointing start as fell to a 4-1 defeat in Monday's clash with Burnley.

Tahith Chong's found the net in the 55th minute to halve the deficit after the Clarets had established a two-goal lead, before Burnley reaaserted their authority with two more goals to condemn the Hatters to a heavy home defeat.

Rob Edwards's side will now head on their travels for their first away game of the season, and they will be looking to claim their first competitive away win since beaten Everton 2-1 in January's FA Cup tie.

Luton's hopes of clinching all three points may be tempered by the fact they have have failed to win any of their last nine competitive away meetings with Portsmouth (D1, L8).

As a result of that poor record, the Hatters will travel to Fratton Park with the aim of recording an away win over Portsmouth for the first time since September 1975.

Portsmouth Championship form:

D

Portsmouth form (all competitions):

D

L

Luton Town Championship form:

L

Team News

Portsmouth are still unable to call upon the injured Jacob Farrell and Jacob Murphy, who are a couple of weeks away from returning to action.

Defender Regan Poole and forward Colby Bishop remain sidelined, while Kusini Yengi is a doubt after missing the two games against Luton and Millwall with a groin injury.

Conor Shaughnessy, Marlon Pack, Andre Dozzell, Callum Lang and Elias Sorensen could all be recalled, while Matt Richie may be presented with his first starting since returning to the club.

As for the visitors, they shared the positive news that captain Tom Lockyer has returned to the club's training ground to work individually as he steps up his rehabilitation after suffering a cardiac arrest in a Premier League game against Bournemouth in December.

In addition to Lockyer, the Hatters could be without the services of Marvelous Nakamba, Reece Burke, Mads Andersen, Jacob Brown, Daiki Hashioka, Tim Krul and Jordan Clark.

After conceding four goals on Monday, Edwards could be tempted to make a change to his backline, with Tom Holmes among those who could be considered for a starting berth.

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Norris; Williams, Shaughnessy, Towler; Ogilvie; Pack, Dozzell; Richie, Lang, Silvera; Sorensen

Luton Town possible starting lineup:

Kaminski; Walters, Mengi, Johnson; Ogbene, Baptiste, Nelson, Doughty; Chong; Morris, Adebayo

We say: Portsmouth 2-2 Luton Town

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