John Mousinho drops ‘Huge’ Leeds claim ahead of game v Portsmouth
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho is a big admirer of Leeds United as his side prepare to take on the Championship leaders on Sunday.
Pompey will be looking to pull themselves further away from the relegation zone with an unlikely win over the table toppers, while Leeds are vying to take another step forwards in their bid to seal promotion back to the Premier League.
Mousinho will have to overcome the challenge posed by Leeds without star man Callum Lang and six other players due to injury concerns.
On a more positive note for Portsmouth, though, Leeds boast a woeful record at Fratton Park, having last won at Pompey’s home ground all the way back in 1986.
Portsmouth boss Mousinho impressed by Leeds quality
Mousinho’s men last met Leeds during the opening day of the season, when the two sides played out a memorable 3-3 draw at Elland Road.
Portsmouth established a 2-1 half-time lead thanks to goals from Elias Sorensen and Lang, before the latter put Pompey 3-2 up in injury time.
However, Brenden Aaronson’s goal in the dying embers of the game ensured that Mousinho’s side and Daniel Farke’s men would share the spoils back in August.
| Porsmouth’s last five results | Opponent | Date | Result |
| Sheffield United (A) | 08/02/2025 | 2-1 L | |
| Cardiff (H) | 11/02/2025 | 2-1 W | |
| Oxford (A) | 15/02/2025 | 0-2 W | |
| QPR (H) | 22/02/2025 | 2-1 W | |
| Luton (A) | 01/03/2025 | 1-0 L |
This time though, Leeds may pose a different challenge while the Pompey boss told the Portsmouth official website: “Leeds are the best team in the league, they have a huge amount of talent on the pitch and coming off the bench.
“We’ve seen how strong they are all season and they have an excellent record, with just three defeats so far.
“I’m sure a lot of people will have seen them on television most weeks and be aware of what a threat they are.”
Portsmouth face a tough assignment on Sunday
Mousinho and co can still take plenty of heart from their aforementioned 3-3 draw at Elland Road last August, as they proved that they can go toe-to-toe with a quality Leeds side on their day.
However, it is no surprise that the Portsmouth boss has dubbed the Whites as the best team in the league, given that Farke’s men have not lost in the Championship since their 1-0 defeat at Blackburn all the way back in November, which came thanks to a Todd Cantwell penalty.
The Whites are absolutely flying right now and recently enjoyed consecutive victories over direct promotion rivals Sunderland and Sheffield United prior to last weekend’s 1-1 draw with West Brom.
Furthermore, Farke’s side will have even more motivation to pick up yet another victory if Sheffield United beat Preston on Saturday afternoon, as a win for Chris Wilder’s men would see them go level on points with Leeds.