Portsmouth v Arsenal: Line-ups, stats and preview

Portsmouth v Arsenal FA Cup preview

Portsmouth centre-back Regan Poole says the second-tier club will “have a right good go” at extending their unbeaten home run to four matches when Premier League leaders Arsenal arrive in the FA Cup third round.

Pompey are a point above the relegation zone but have two matches in hand on third-bottom Norwich City and have been helped by collecting seven points from their last nine available at home, including a 2-1 victory over Charlton Athletic on December 29.

“Not many teams like coming to Fratton Park and we’ve got to put them under pressure early on,” said former Wales international Poole, speaking to Portsmouth’s website.

“It’s the kind of draw you wish for and we feel pretty lucky to get it, so we’re not just going to roll over and watch them play nice football. We have to get in their faces.”

Arsenal are continuing a run of nine matches in 28 days in January as they bid to progress beyond the fourth round for the first time since winning the competition in Mikel Arteta’s first season in charge in 2019/20.

The Gunners drew 0-0 at home to Liverpool on Wednesday, bringing their seven-match winning stretch in all competitions to an end but moving six points clear at the Premier League summit.

“With the schedule we have in front of us and the situation that we have to deal with, what [the players] are doing is remarkable,” suggested Arteta.

“The desire they have to win and the consistency that they are showing [is impressive]. We want to continue to improve and learn and every game is an opportunity to do that.”

FA Cup third round 2025: Portsmouth v Arsenal team news

Defender Connor Ogilvie, midfielder Mark Kosznovszky and forward Florian Bianchini are missing with knee injuries as part of Pompey’s long absentee list.

Defender or midfielder Josh Knight (back) and striker Thomas Waddingham (thigh) are also sidelined. Midfielder Marlon Pack, winger Josh Murphy and forward Callum Lang all have hamstring injuries.

Defender Hayden Matthews is a doubt with an ankle problem. On-loan South Korea wideman Minhyeok Yang has been recalled by Tottenham, having scored the third goal of his spell at Portsmouth with their 98th-minute winner against Charlton.

Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie was replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly during the second half against Liverpool with a potential hamstring problem.

Fellow defender Cristhian Mosquera and winger Max Dowman have ankle injuries. Full-back Riccardo Calafiori has been out with an unspecified issue.

Portsmouth v Arsenal predicted FA Cup line-ups

Portsmouth starting XI: Nicolas Schmid, Regan Poole, Conor Shaughnessy, Ibane Bowat, Terry Devlin, Luke Le Roux, Andre Dozzell, Zak Swanson, John Swift, Makenzie Kirk, Adrian Segecic

Arsenal starting XI: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ben White, Christian Norgaard, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino, Noni Madueke

How to watch Portsmouth v Arsenal: FA Cup TV channel, live online stream

Kick-off on Sunday is at 14:00 GMT (09:00 ET / 06:00 PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.

TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through discovery+, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.

Portsmouth v Arsenal FA Cup 2025/26 stats

• Only Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City and Sheffield Wednesday have lost more home matches in this season’s Championship than Portsmouth (5)
• Pompey have not kept a clean sheet for 10 matches, last doing so in a 0-0 draw at home to Wrexham on November 5
• Aside from Swansea City (22.8), no team has fewer expected goals in the division in 2025/26 (24)
• They have attempted the second-most (2,167) and completed the third-most (963) long balls in the second tier, although 12 teams can better than completion percentage of 44.4 in that respect
• Winger John Swift is one of 15 players in the Championship to have an average shot distance of more than 24 yards, scoring with one of his 16 attempts this season
• Arsenal are 22 matches unbeaten against Portsmouth, last losing the fixture 5-4 away in March 1958
• During that run, six of the eight occasions when they have been held to a draw have been at Fratton Park
• They have won their last five meetings with Pompey by an aggregate of 14-2
• Three of those five victories have been away, including the most recent win in which they prevailed 2-0 in the FA Cup fifth round in March 2020
• Arteta’s side have the best away record in this season’s Premier League, registering two more points (20) than Tottenham and Aston Villa from one fewer match
• Their average of two points per game on the road is 0.3 ahead of the next-nearest team in that respect, Manchester City

FA Cup third round: Portsmouth v Arsenal prediction

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