Havant v Portsmouth preview: Team news, lineups, prediction
Portsmouth’s pre-season preparations have gotten off to an excellent start so far.
John Mousinho’s side have won their four pre-season friendlies so far and have yet to concede a goal, whilst some may say this is irrelevant come the start of the new Championship campaign, it is certainly a welcome boost.
In their last match (26 July), the Blues ran out 0-4 winners as they took on League One Reading at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Below, Pompey News previews the clash with Havant, including team news, lineups, and the result.
Form Guide (All competitions)
Havant & Waterlooville: WDWD
Portsmouth: WWWW
Team News
Conor Shaughnessy and Regan Poole look to be the preferred centre-back partnership for Mousinho so far.
With both players’ injury issues meaning the pair have rarely played together, it would be wise of Mousinho to give his preferred partnership more time to gel, if possible.
Playing against weaker opposition allows Mousinho to experiment more with his team selection, and although Adrian Segecic was deployed as the number ten against Reading, John Swift may be given an audition in that position.
Whilst Swift is more likely to play deeper in midfield when the Championship kicks off, there is no harm in utilising his versatility and seeing how he operates in a more attacking role at Portsmouth.
Predicted lineups
After Callum Bishop was favoured to lead the line against Reading, it makes sense for Thomas Waddingham to come in and start against Havant.
Waddingham would have an ideal opportunity to bag himself a few goals to build his confidence ahead of the new campaign.
Swift, Paddy Lane and Callum Lang could all start behind the Aussie as they look to provide him with quality service.
Mousinho may opt to deploy Marlon Pack and Andre Dozzell at the base of midfield, with Poole and Shaughnessy starting at the heart of the defence.
To round out the team, Nicolas Schmid could start in goal as the bond between himself and this centre half partnership continues to grow, with Terry Devlin and Connor Ogilvie starting as the full-backs.
Prediction: Havant 0-2 Portsmouth
Given Pompey’s fine form in pre-season, it is hard to see that winning run coming to an end against a non-league club with all due respect.
Waddingham will be eager to get on the scoresheet and provide some competition for Bishop next season, whilst the defence will want to keep their run of four consecutive clean sheets.
With that in mind, expect Waddingham and Lang to find the back of the net in a comfortable 0-2 for the south coast outfit.
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