Middlesbrough will be desperate to return to winning ways when they welcome Portsmouth to the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.
The 2025/26 EFL Championship season will resume this week with Matchday 42. The action on Saturday starts with the game between Coventry City and Sheffield Wednesday, and two other matches before continuing with seven simultaneous ties, including Middlesbrough vs Portsmouth at the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough’s promotion-seeking campaign has been threatening to go pear-shaped in recent weeks. Kim Hellberg’s men have been in the top three throughout the 2025/26 season, and they returned to the summit after a 2-1 win over Sheffield United in February. However, since then, two victories in ten matches have pushed Boro to third in the EFL Championship standings, with Ipswich Town having a better goal difference.
On the other hand, Portsmouth’s 2025/26 campaign has been frustrating, as they have only won successive games once in the EFL Championship thus far. To make matters worse, the visitors have not secured a victory since February, managing only three points during that run. With Leicester City and Oxford United only a point behind the 21st-placed Pompey, each point matters, and a win is like gold dust.
The reverse fixture was one of ten wins for Portsmouth this season, as they clinched a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough thanks to Yang Min-hyeok’s 23rd-minute strike. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Middlesbrough
Kim Hellberg has a new injury concern that is hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Middlesbrough head coach may be bereft of the services of over half a dozen first-team players vs Portsmouth ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Alex Bangura is the latest absentee after sustaining a muscular injury in the first half of the EFL Championship clash with Swansea City. The 26-year-old accompanies Alfie Jones, Darragh Lenihan, Leo Castledine, Hayden Hackney, Sammy Silvera, and Morgan Whittaker in the treatment room.
Sol Brynn is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Middlesbrough lining up in a 4-2-2-2 formation in front of him vs Portsmouth on Saturday. The backline will feature Callum Brittain, Luke Ayling, Adilson Malanda, and Matt Targett, who will replace Bangura in the left-back berth.
As for the midfield unit, Alan Browne will line up alongside Aidan Morris in the double pivot in the middle of the park. Riley McGree and Jeremy Sarmiento will take up the creative charge in the advanced areas, with David Strelec and Tommy Conway completing the numbers in the final third.
Probable Lineup (4-2-2-2): Brynn; Brittain, Ayling, Malanda, Targett; Browne, Morris; McGree, Sarmiento; Strelec, Conway
Portsmouth
Like his counterpart in the Middlesbrough dugout, John Mousinho has a new issue to worry about ahead of the trip to the Riverside Stadium. The Portsmouth head coach will be without seven first-team players on Saturday.
Connor Ogilvie will start his three-match ban following his dismissal in the 2-2 draw with Oxford United on Monday. Additionally, Josh Murphy, Franco Umeh, Florian Bianchini, Ebou Adams, Zak Swanson, and Mark Kosznovszky remain in the treatment room. However, Josh Knight and Thomas Waddingham are available for selection after recovering from their long injury layoffs.
Nicolas Schmid will take his spot between the sticks, with Portsmouth lining up in a 4-4-1-1 formation in front of him vs Middlesbrough on Saturday. The backline will feature Terry Devlin, Regan Poole, Conor Shaughnessy, and Jordan Williams.
As for the midfield unit, Andre Dozzell will line up alongside skipper Marlon Pack in the double pivot, with Gustavo Caballero and Keshi Anderson being the two wide attackers. Finally, Colby Bishop will spearhead the Portsmouth attack against Middlesbrough, with Conor Chaplin playing behind him.
Probable Lineup (4-4-1-1): Schmid; Devlin, Poole, Shaughnessy, Williams; Caballero, Dozzell, Pack, Anderson; Chaplin; Bishop
Key Stats
- Middlesbrough have won just one of their last nine league games vs Portsmouth (D5 L3), a 3-1 away win in March 2012.
- Following the 1-0 win in October, Portsmouth are aiming to complete the league double over Middlesbrough for the first time since 1993/94.
- Middlesbrough are winless in their last five Championship games (D3 L2), their longest run of the season. Since the date of that first winless game, they have produced 48 more shots than any other side (126) and 122 more touches in the opposition’s box than anyone else (272). Despite this, Boro have only scored four goals and have the worst shot conversion (3.2%), underperforming their xG by 8.9 (4 goals, 12.9 xG).
- Portsmouth have gone eight Championship matches without winning (D3 L5), their worst winless run since failing to win their first nine games of 2024/25.
- Hayden Hackney has created the most chances both overall (83) and in open play (62) in the Championship this term. He has also completed 848 passes in the final third, the fourth-most by a player in a Championship season (excluding play-offs) on record since 2013/14.
Player to Watch
Tommy Conway
While David Strelec, Colby Bishop, and Conor Chaplin were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Tommy Conway as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s EFL Championship match between Middlesbrough and Portsmouth at the Riverside Stadium.
With top scorer Morgan Whittaker and creative supremo Hayden Hackney unavailable, the onus of producing the goods in the final third will fall on Conway, who has scored nine goals in the EFL Championship this season. David Strelec has also not been at his best, managing only five strikes. So, Conway will be the go-to player for Kim Hellberg as he attempts to guide Boro out of the recent slump.
Prediction
Middlesbrough 2-1 Portsmouth
A few weeks ago, Middlesbrough would have planned for Saturday’s match with three points in mind. While Portsmouth’s struggles have continued in recent outings, the hosts have also been dreadful for nearly two months. Additionally, they have a concerning head-to-head record against Pompey.
So, a closely-contested affair is on the cards, with Middlesbrough set to feel the absence of Morgan Whittaker and Hayden Hackney dearly. However, Tommy Conway and David Strelec will deliver the goods to earn a narrow victory, taking advantage of Portsmouth’s soft underbelly. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Kim Hellberg and his charges.
