Preview
LiveScoresXSheffield Utd arrive at Portsmouth's ground with the stronger record in this fixture and the better away numbers to back it. In their last 20 away games, the Blades have won 10, drawn 6 and lost 4, averaging 1.8 points per game while conceding just 0.75 per match. Portsmouth, by contrast, have won only 7 of their last 20 home games, drawing 5 and losing 8, with 1.3 points per game and 1.25 conceded per match. The gap in away performance is significant.
The head-to-head tells a similar story. In the two meetings within the last 12 months, Sheffield Utd have won both: a 3–0 victory at their own ground on 26 November 2025 and a 1–0 away win at Portsmouth on 14 February 2026. The older meetings stretch back to 2012 and are historical record only, but even those show Sheffield Utd winning 4 of 6 overall across both venues.
Portsmouth's recent form gives little cause for optimism. They lost 0–1 at Southampton just three days before this fixture, and in their last five matches they have won only once, drawing twice and losing twice. They failed to score in three of those five games, and four of the five finished under 2.5 goals. Their home record over 20 games includes 8 defeats, and their latest 10 across all venues shows just 2 wins from 10 for 0.9 points per game.
Sheffield Utd's own recent form is not without wobbles — they lost three of their last five, including 0–1 at Wolves at home on 13 September and 0–1 at Fleetwood in the League Cup on 16 September. However, they responded with a 3–0 home win over Lincoln on 10 October, and their latest 10 games show 4 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses for 1.4 points per game, comfortably ahead of Portsmouth's 0.9. The Blades also scored 1.4 goals per game over that stretch, compared with Portsmouth's 1.0.
The counter-argument is that Portsmouth did score in their last two home games — 2–2 with Blackburn on 19 September and 2–0 against Cardiff on 5 September — and that Sheffield Utd's away record, while strong over 20 games, includes 6 draws that could keep this close. The Blades also failed to score in two of their last five matches, so a clean sheet is not guaranteed. Portsmouth's home record does include 7 wins, and the head-to-head sample of recent meetings is small at just two games.
Key Points:
- Sheffield Utd won both recent head-to-head meetings (3–0 and 1–0)
- Sheffield Utd's away record: 10W 6D 4L in 20 games (1.8 ppg); Portsmouth's home record: 7W 5D 8L (1.3 ppg)
- Portsmouth lost their last game and failed to score in 3 of 5 recent matches
- Sheffield Utd's latest 10: 4W 2D 4L (1.4 ppg) vs Portsmouth's 2W 3D 5L (0.9 ppg)
- Sheffield Utd conceded only 0.75 per game away over 20 games, with 8 clean sheets
My view is that Sheffield Utd are the likelier winners here. The evidence points clearly to the Blades being the stronger side in this context — their away record is markedly better, they have won both recent meetings, and Portsmouth are in poor form. The market prices Sheffield Utd at 34.25%, but I rate their chance closer to 43%, which gives a genuine edge at 2.92. I back the away win.