Portsmouth’s dramatic 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough on Saturday boosted their chances of avoiding relegation from the Championship at the end of the season.
They are one point above the drop zone ahead on a crucial home game against promotion-chasing Ipswich Town on Tuesday night.
Pompey finish their campaign with tricky fixtures against Leicester City (H), Coventry City (A), Stoke City (A) and Birmingham City (H).
Fans who are unable to attend any of the games will be clamouring to find reliable live streams to keep up-to-speed with Portsmouth’s bid to beat the drop.
Platforms such as hesgoal will amongst the online resources supporters will use during a pivotal run of fixtures for the south coast club.
The victory at the Riverside Stadium was much-needed, particularly with fellow strugglers Oxford United recorded a vital 2-0 home win over Watford.
Read on as we assess Portsmouth’s chances of avoiding relegation to League One after just two seasons in the English second tier.
Mousinho praises his players’ commitment
Conor Chaplin’s dramatic winner in the seventh minute of added time ensured that Portsmouth kept themselves above the relegation zone.
With Middlesbrough needing to win to stay in the promotion race, John Mousinho’s side spent a sizeable proportion of the game defending on the edge of their own box.
However, they held firm in the face of the home side’s onslaught before snatching what could ultimately prove to be a crucial victory in the relegation battle.
“To score in those circumstances with pretty much the last kick of the game – with so much pressure on us in the second half – is definitely right up there,” Mousinho said.
“It was the polar opposite of a lot of our games over the past few months, when we’ve dominated and come away scratching our heads.
“We’ve been on the receiving end of that ‘smash and grab’, but we did what we had to in order to remain in the contest.
“As it progressed, we knew there would be more pressure on Middlesbrough to get forward and there were opportunities for us to break when we didn’t have that quality or belief.”
“We’ve given ourselves half a chance now with five games remaining and have to keep picking up as many points as we can.”
High-flying Ipswich will be a tough test
According to SportsView, Ipswich are the favourites to secure the second automatic promotion spot alongside table-toppers Coventry City.
The visitors will head to Fratton Park in a buoyant mood having pieced together a nine-game winning run to climb up to second place in the Championship.
Portsmouth are winless in each of their last five league games against Ipswich (D2, L3), since a 2-1 home victory in League One in March 2021.
Ipswich triumphed 2-1 at Portman Road in the reverse fixture and will be eager to take advantage of Portsmouth’s recent dismal record in midweek fixtures.
They have failed to win their last nine midweek Championship games (D3, L6) since defeating Cardiff City 2-1 in February 2025.
With a tough run of fixtures still to come, Mousinho’s side desperately need to avoid suffering their tenth league defeat of the season at Fratton Park.
West Brom’s financial woes could give Portsmouth a lifeline
Portsmouth are locked in a six-way fight to avoid relegation to League One. Two of that group will join Sheffield Wednesday in the third-tier next season.
Leicester are currently 23rd in the table, four points behind Portsmouth with four games remaining. Oxford are three points ahead of the Foxes in the standings.
West Bromwich Albion, Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic are also looking nervously over their shoulders. Recent developments in the Midlands could aid Portsmouth’s cause.
The Baggies have reportedly been charged with an alleged breach of financial rules for last season and now face the threat of a points deduction.
Sporting sanctions from the previous campaign must be applied this term according to English Football League rules, which could result in the Baggies dropping into the bottom three if they lose points.
The club’s overall losses since July 2022 were £55.6 million, which exceeds the permitted amount of a maximum £39m over the three-year reporting period.
However, other expenditure elements have yet to be factored into the final calculations, and are expected to bring the two figures much closer together.
While Portsmouth will undoubtedly be monitoring developments, their primary focus will be on ensuring they pick up enough points in their final five games to keep themselves afloat.
