The games continue to come thick and fast in the 2025/26 EFL Championship run-in period, and Tuesday will witness two rescheduled games. Portsmouth vs Ipswich Town at Fratton Park will be one of those matches, with both teams eager to secure three points in the midweek tie.
Portsmouth took a step closer to avoiding relegation from the EFL Championship after a shock 1-0 win over Middlesbrough this past weekend. The result helped Pompey remain outside the drop zone, as Oxford United also secured three points on the same day. However, with John Mousinho and his charges having one game in hand, they will aim to take advantage of the buffer.
On the other hand, Ipswich Town may soon return to the Premier League, having risen to second in the EFL Championship standings due to a nine-match unbeaten run. The Tractor Boys were slow off the blocks in their league campaign, having won just three of their first ten matches. However, since then, Kieran McKenna’s charges have lost only thrice, and they are in the driver’s seat to finish second.
The reverse fixture saw Ipswich Town come from a goal down to beat Portsmouth 2-1, with George Hirst scoring the match-winning goal. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
John Mousinho has a new roster issue that is hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Portsmouth head coach will be bereft of the services of eight first-team players vs Ipswich Town on Tuesday.
Conor Chaplin is the latest absentee, as he is ineligible to take on his parent club. Meanwhile, Zak Swanson, Mark Kosznovszky, Franco Umeh, Florian Bianchini, Ebou Adams, and Josh Murphy remain in the treatment room. Additionally, Conor Ogilvie will serve the second match of a three-game suspension.
Nicolas Schmid will take his spot between the sticks, with Portsmouth lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Ipswich Town on Tuesday. The backline will feature Terry Devlin, Regan Poole, Conor Shaughnessy, and Jordan Williams.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Andre Dozzell and captain Marlon Pack, with Adrian Segecic reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Colby Bishop will lead the line for Portsmouth against Ipswich Town, with Keshi Anderson and Gustavo Caballero being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Schmid; Devlin, Poole, Shaughnessy, Williams; Pack, Dozzell; Caballero, Segecic, Anderson; Bishop
Unlike his counterpart in the Portsmouth dugout, KIeran McKenna has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to Fratton Park. The Ipswich Town head coach may be without four first-team players on Tuesday.
Ashley Young, Conor Townsend, and David Button remain in the treatment room, and they are unavailable for the foreseeable future. Additionally, McKenna continues to sweat over Wes Burns’s fitness due to a calf issue.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Walton; Furlong, O’Shea, Greaves, Davis; Matusiwa, Neil; McAteer, Mehmeti, Clarke; Hirst
While George Hirst, Jack Clarke, and Adrian Segecic were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Colby Bishop as the Player to Watch for Tuesday’s EFL Championship clash between Portsmouth and Ipswich Town at Fratton Park.
The 29-year-old striker has scored more goals in the Football League against Ipswich Town than any other opponent (six goals – three for Accrington Stanley, three for Portsmouth). So, he will be the go-to player in the final third for John Mousinho as he attemps to mastermind a victory over the Tractor Boys this week.
Portsmouth’s recent win over Middlesbrough would have filled them with hope and confidence ahead of the clash with Ipswich Town on Tuesday. However, despite Pompey’s thre-match unbeaten run, it is worth noting that they have lost four of their last five matches at Fratton Park.
On the other hand, the Tractor Boys are the form team in the EFL Championship, and they have won three of their last four outings on the road. So, while a confident Portsmouth will take the game to Ipswich Town, the visitors will grow into the proceedings as the minutes wear on before clinching three points. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for Kieran McKenna and his charges.
