Mousinho axes Freddie Potts amid teammate news – Portsmouth predicted XI v Preston
John Mousinho may be tempted to rotate some of his Portsmouth side for this weekend’s Championship trip to Preston North End.
The head coach has often been unpredictable in terms of bringing players out of the side, and could be in line to do so again as Portsmouth followed up a superb win over Leeds United with a shock home defeat by Plymouth Argyle (12 March).
The visit to Deepdale comes just another three days after the Plymouth defeat at Fratton Park, and Mousinho may be seeking a balance between rotating too many players and avoiding going unchanged again.
Mousinho could take Freddie Potts out of the side
Last time Mousinho rotated heavily, Portsmouth were hammered by West Brom at The Hawthorns (25 January). Since then, the Blues boss has been more conservative with his changes while also stressing the importance of match fitness and recovery.
Potts was far from the worst player against Plymouth on Wednesday, if not just a quiet presence in the midfield. He was only brought back in from his injury for the Leeds game having missed the preceding few with a calf strain.
With the versatility of Terry Devlin – who was an unused substitute in midweek despite his impressive showing as a number 10 against Leeds – the soon-to-be Northern Ireland international wouldn’t surprise many by taking his place in central midfield this weekend.
It’s Devlin’s natural position after all, at least until he became recognised as more of a right-back this season. Zak Swanson has been impressive of late however, and he will retain his spot there, while Marlon Pack is considered vital by Mousinho and will likely start at centre-half again. The match fitness of Alexander Milosevic is questionable and he could be left on the bench until after the international break.
Adil Aouchiche opened his Portsmouth account with an excellent strike against Argyle, which unfortunately proved little more than a consolation. The Frenchman will feel more of a Pompey player following his performance, and there is no reason he should be taken out of the side.
The usual senior stars including Matt Ritchie and Josh Murphy should again be in the team, with Pompey needing a fast start and an improvement to their away form.
Portsmouth given wake-up call by Plymouth
If Portsmouth needed a shake to remind them the survival battle isn’t over yet, it was supplied on Wednesday as Argyle snatched their first away win in the Championship this season.
Pompey had won seven of their last nine games at Fratton Park prior to the 2-1 defeat, and have won just twice on their travels all season.
| POS | Championship table 2024-25 | PLD | PTS | GD |
| 17 | PORTSMOUTH | 37 | 42 | -14 |
| 18 | Hull | 37 | 40 | -8 |
| 19 | Stoke | 37 | 39 | -13 |
| 20 | Oxford | 37 | 39 | -17 |
| 21 | Cardiff | 37 | 36 | -21 |
| 22 | Derby | 37 | 35 | -12 |
| 23 | Luton | 37 | 34 | -26 |
| 24 | Plymouth | 37 | 33 | -36 |
Against Preston, that needs to change. While a point wouldn’t be catastrophic, a win would go a long way towards easing the pressure at the end of the season. If we’ve seen one thing from Wednesday – and the defeat at Luton Town (1 March) it’s that the teams below Pompey will fight, and keep fighting.
The gap to the relegation zone was cut from 10 points to seven in midweek, and Portsmouth will look to seize the opportunity to get another three-point haul on the board before some of the squad go their separate ways for their international commitments.