Portsmouth v Hull preview: Team news, where to watch, supercomputer prediction
Portsmouth will enjoy a day of celebration in recognition of their successful safety mission in the Championship this weekend when Hull City come to town.
Pompey secured survival over the Easter weekend and head into matchday 46 four unbeaten in the league, with visitors Hull with a significantly different outlook on the final day.
All Championship games this Saturday (3 May) will kick off at 12:30pm with eight of the 12 still offering something to play for. Ruben Selles’ Hull must avoid defeat to have any chance of avoiding relegation to League One, and could even be forced to win depending on proceedings around the grounds.
Portsmouth v Hull preview
Portsmouth sit 16th in the Championship and are finally clear of the relegation battle, having earned a draw with the pressure off against Sheffield Wednesday last weekend (26 April).
For Hull, this fixture means everything – and their place in the league is at stake. Former Southampton boss Selles brings his side down from Humberside looking to do enough to outrank one of Luton Town, Derby County, Preston North End and Stoke City.
Cardiff City’s relegation was confirmed in the penultimate round of fixtures, while Plymouth Argyle are also as good as gone despite back-to-back wins by virtue of their horrific goal difference.
Pompey will endure a busy summer of squad building under John Mousinho and Rich Hughes this summer, but will first play out the final match of a mammoth campaign back in the second tier in front of the home support who they have largely treated at Fratton.
| Portsmouth – Championship wins 2024-25 | Total |
| Home | 11 |
| Away | 3 |
Form guide
Portsmouth: DWWDL
Hull: LWLDL
Team news
Mousinho, who this week turned 39, made some rotations at Hillsborough in Portsmouth’s last outing, but is likely to revert to type for the final game with Nicolas Schmid in contention to replace Ben Killip in goal.
Matt Ritchie could also return after a rest in South Yorkshire, and Callum Lang will be pushing for a start as both he and Conor Shaughnessy – who got another 45 minutes under his belt last weekend – recover from their respective injury lay-offs.
Jordan Williams, Hayden Matthews and Adil Aouchiche all remain out for the Blues, who have dealt with an extensive injury list all year long.
For Hull, long-term absentees Liam Millar, Louie Barry, Mohamed Belloumi and Eliot Matazo remain out, while Regan Slater is expected to miss out after being withdrawn early in their last contest against Derby.
However, we are likely to see the return to Fratton Park of Abu Kamara, who played a massive part in taking the Blues up from League One last season.
Predicted line-ups
Portsmouth: Schmid, Devlin, Shaughnessy, Atkinson, Ogilvie, Potts, Dozzell, Ritchie, Lang, Murphy, Bishop.
Hull: Pandur, Coyle, Jones, Hughes, McLoughlin, Puerta, Alzate, Kamara, Gelhardt, Amrabat, Joseph.
Where to watch
Pompey against Hull has been chosen as one of the three primary live matches to be shown on Sky Sports, and will be the main game on Sky Sports+ with coverage beginning at 12:25pm.
Coventry City and Middlesbrough battle it out for a potential play-off place on Sky Sports Main Event, while Luton Town’s survival mission at West Bromwich Albion will be shown on Sky Sports Football.
All other Championship fixtures will be available via the match choice option on Sky Sports+, behind proceedings at Fratton Park.
Supercomputer prediction
Portsmouth have been doubted by several heading into the weekend purely down to Hull’s desperate need for points.
However, the Opta supercomputer has not seen it that way, with its detailed statistical algorithm offering Pompey a 45.6 per cent chance of coming out on top.
Hull have been issued a 27.6 per cent probability of taking a vital three points, with a 26.8 chance of a draw.