Portsmouth v Southampton: Everything you need to know about South Coast Derby
Portsmouth’s rivalry with Southampton is one of the most historic and intense clashes in English football, and after a 13-year break, the wait is over.
The last time these two fierce rivals faced each other in the league was back in 2011/12 in the EFL Championship.
It ended 2-2 at St Mary’s on that occasion, with Billy Sharp scoring both for the Saints, while Chris Maguire and a late winner from David Norris sealed a famous point for Pompey.
Why is Portsmouth v Southampton such a big derby?
As the two cities are close together, the rivalry stems from there; the M27 separates the two.
However, the rivalry did not start with the football teams.
If we look back through history, Portsmouth have a military port, and Southampton was a commercial port; two opposites do not attract.
Harry Redknapp also added fuel to the fire between the clubs, with 30 miles apart from each other, he left Portsmouth in 2004 to join rivals Southampton.
Redknapp left Portsmouth and jumped ships to Southampton, where he got them relegated in his season in charge before going back to Pompey, where he won them the FA Cup and kept them a Premier League team.
South Coast Derby’s recent fixtures
The last time the two rivals faced each other was in 2019 in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, leagues apart.
Portsmouth were in League One and Southampton were in the Premier League.
The blue side of Hampshire lost 4-0 at home to their rivals, but five seasons later, the two teams would be in the same league, and it would be a fair game.
Last time they faced each other in the EFL Championship, it was in the 2011/12 season, when Pompey travelled down to St Mary’s and drew 2-2 in the 90+7 minute after Norris scored the equaliser.
Despite drawing against rivals, Southampton, they failed to secure survival at the end of the season, as Southampton earned promotion.