Portsmouth set for more Southampton madness as cup draw made
Portsmouth against Southampton is always a drama-fuelled football match
It’s the match that fans were searching for as soon as the Championship fixtures were released.
Pompey fans will do whatever they can to ensure they get a ticket, and they won’t stop bragging about it when they get a result.
Portsmouth Women drawn against Southampton in League Cup
Portsmouth’s men’s team are in the same division as Southampton for their first time since 2012, and the hype about this match is already heating up.
The women’s sides will also go head-to-head in the WSL2 division this season.
And if that’s not enough local derbies for football fans in Hampshire, the two sides have also been drawn together in group stage of the Women’s League Cup.
Charlton, Brighton and West Ham are also in the group with Jay Sadler’s side. The dates of the fixtures for this competition will be released in due course.
The draw was made on Thursday (31 July), with details being relayed by Pompey’s official social media channels.
The structure of the Women’s League Cup is fascinating
The FA Women’s League Cup features all teams that play in the Women’s Super League and the Women’s Super League 2.
The competition begins with a group stage, divided regionally into Northern and Southern sections. If a group stage match is drawn, the two teams will compete in a penalty shootout for an additional point. Only the group winners qualify for the knockout rounds.
There are five groups. The five winners will be joined by three seeded teams in the quarter-finals. These seeded teams are Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, due to their European commitments.
| Season | Winners |
| 2020-21 | Chelsea |
| 2021-22 | Manchester City |
| 2022-23 | Arsenal |
| 2023-24 | Arsenal |
| 2024-25 | Chelsea |
This unique structure adds some extra intrigue to the competition, while the regional groups often gives fans more opportunities to witness a local derby.
Since the men’s edition of this tournament (currently named the Carabao Cup) is suffering from a lack of fan and club interest, perhaps a new format like this could be explored.
The obvious downside to a group stage is that it potentially creates extra fixtures, but something has to be done to fix the apathy towards this competition on the men’s side.
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