Portsmouth can achieve something for first time in 56 years against Norwich City
Portsmouth welcome Norwich City to Fratton Park on Saturday, and they’ll be hoping to build on their impressive 1-0 victory at Oxford in their opening game of the season.
Adrian Segecic scored the winner in a game where Pompey’s defence withstood a late surge of pressure to maintain a clean sheet.
That will please John Mousinho, whose side had a habit of conceding crucial late goals away from home toward the end of last season.
Their home form was exceptionally good though, and Portsmouth are considered favourites to beat Norwich this weekend.
If they do, they’ll manage to pull off a feat that hasn’t been achieved in 56 years.
Portsmouth tend to struggle for back-to-back wins vs Norwich
Portsmouth only recorded three away victories last season, but one of those was against Norwich back in April.
Mousinho’s men recorded a 5-3 win at Carrow Road, thanks to a Colby Bishop hat-trick and goals from Matt Ritchie and Regan Poole.
That means they have the chance to record back-to-back victories against Norwich for the first time since April 1969, as per Opta.
Pompey haven’t lost their opening home league game since 2013, an unbeaten run of six wins and five draws.
Meanwhile, Norwich haven’t won their opening away game of a league season since 2020.
Portsmouth will have to be at their best to defeat Liam Manning’s Norwich
The history books might favour Portsmouth in this fixture, but they’ll have to be at their best to take all three points from Liam Manning’s Norwich.
Norwich were one of the stronger sides in the Championship last season, and looked like playoff contenders until a late run of poor form cost them.
| Date | Result |
| 10 December 2024 | Portsmouth 0 Norwich City 0 |
| 18 April 2025 | Norwich City 3 Portsmouth 5 |
Manning qualified for the playoffs with Bristol City, but left Ashton Gate to take charge of the Canaries this summer.
He has been very busy in the transfer market, signing promising youngsters from various European leagues.
Plus, they still have Josh Sargent. The 25-year-old is one of the deadliest strikers in the league. He was almost signed by Wolfsburg for around £20million this summer, but the deal fell through.
He may still leave before the transfer window closes, but he’s available for selection at Fratton Park and will be looking to his tally of two goals in two games this season.
Sign up for the Pompey News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Portsmouth news sent straight to your phone.