Preview: Portsmouth vs. Northampton Town - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts are currently sitting top of the League One table, while the visitors head into the weekend in ninth position.

Match preview

Portsmouth bounced back from consecutive defeats to collect seven points from their last three matches, taking their total points tally to 60 from 30 league games.

After recording back-to-back victories over Fleetwood Town and Port Vale, Pompey went on to play out a 2-2 draw in Tuesday's away clash with Oxford United.

The league leaders fought back from a goal down to take a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from Colby Bishop and debutant Callum Lang, but they were ultimately denied a third consecutive victory by James Henry's 90th-minute equaliser.

Having been on the road for their last three matches, Pompey will return to Fratton Park for the first time since losing 3-0 to Leyton Orient on January 13.

While they may have fallen to a heavy defeat in their most recent home outing, Portsmouth came out on the right side of a 3-0 scoreline in December's reverse fixture with Northampton Town.

Meanwhile, the visitors will be looking for a positive response after their four-game unbeaten run came to an end last Saturday against Shrewsbury Town.

The Cobblers played out a goalless first half at Sixfields, but they subsequently fell to their first defeat of 2024 following second-half efforts from Daniel Udoh and Chey Dunkley.

Despite experiencing a disappointing result last weekend, Northampton will be pleased with their overall efforts in their first League One campaign since the 2020-21 season.

Having won 12, drawn four and lost 12 of their 28 league matches, the Cobblers currently occupy ninth position with 10 points separating them from the top six.

While Jon Brady will be aware of the tough test that awaits his side on Saturday, he can draw inspiration from the fact his team have lost just one of their last five away league games (W3, D1).

Portsmouth League One form:

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D

Northampton Town League One form:

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Team News

Portsmouth are expected to be without the services of Zach Swanson, Regan Poole, Alex Robertson and Tino Anjorin, while Kusini Yengi is at the Asian Cup with Australia.

Joe Morrell and Terry Devlin are both doubts after they were forced off in Tuesday's draw with Oxford due to knee and shoulder problems respectively.

Defender Tom McIntyre and midfielder Owen Moxon are expected to feature in the matchday squad following their recent arrivals, while Lang could be presented with his first Pompey start after finding the net on his debut.

As for the visitors, they are having to cope with a lengthy injury list which includes Jack Sowerby, Ben Fox and Shaun McWilliams.

The midfield trio are expected to be joined on the sidelines by Sam Sherring, Ali Koiki, Akin Odimayo, Danny Hylton and Tyler Magloire.

Right-back Aaron McGowan could also miss Saturday's contest after he was forced off in the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Shrewsbury.

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Norris; Rafferty, Shaughnessy, Raggett, Ogilvie; Pack, Lowery; Kamara, Peart-Harris, Lang; Bishop

Northampton Town possible starting lineup:

Burge; Lintott, Willis, Guthrie, Brough; Hondermarck, Leonard; Bowie, Pinnock, Hoskins; Simpson

We say: Portsmouth 3-1 Northampton Town

With the Cobblers struggling with injuries, they could probably do without an away game against the current league leaders.

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