Portsmouth’s final fixtures difficulty ranked by supercomputer
Portsmouth are in the heat of the run-in now as they attempt to remain in the Championship and avoid relegation at the end of the season.
Pompey grew their gap over the relegation zone to seven points on Saturday (29 March) by defeating Blackburn Rovers 1-0, with Josh Murphy scoring the only goal of the game.
The result bolstered their odds of survival and put John Mousinho’s squad in a strong position to remain in the Championship, despite having the smallest squad budget in the division.
However, there are no easy games in the Championship at this time of year, and that is certainly the case for Pompey’s remaining seven matches.
Portsmouth’s final fixtures difficulty analysed by supercomputer
The supercomputer by Opta Analyst has revealed which games are expected to be hardest for Portsmouth, with the Blues predicted to finish 17th by the end of it.
Mousinho’s men have several difficult games to come before the season ends, with Opta predicting that their upcoming away game against Millwall will be one of the toughest.
However, out of all the matches Portsmouth have between now and the end of the season, it is their away game against Frank Lampard’s Coventry City that the supercomputer believes will be he toughest.
The Sky Blues are currently in the hunt for promotion to the Premier League and sit in the playoffs after an impressive turnaround.
| Championship | Played | GD | Points |
| 17. Portsmouth | 39 | -14 | 45 |
| 18. Stoke | 39 | -12 | 42 |
| 19. Oxford United | 39 | -17 | 42 |
| 20. Hull | 39 | -9 | 41 |
| 21. Cardiff | 39 | -20 | 40 |
| 22. Derby | 39 | -11 | 38 |
On the other hand, a home match at Fratton Park against Derby County is being viewed as Portsmouth’s easiest match on paper.
Their final games against Norwich, Watford, Sheffield Wednesday, and Hull City all have a similar level of difficulty and will undoubtedly test Mousinho’s squad.
Portsmouth have to be consistent before the end of the season
Portsmouth have done a good job of pushing themselves away from a difficult situation in regards to the league table, but there is still plenty of work to be done.
The victory against Blackburn was certainly a positive one, but the Blues haven’t reached the point where they can simply rest on that result.
As the Opta supercomputer highlights, there are a lot of tricky fixtures between now and the end of the season, and a few more points are likely going to be needed to guarantee survival.