PREVIEW | Norwich City vs Portsmouth - team news, lineups, predictions | OneFootball

Norwich City host Portsmouth this Friday at Carrow Road in Matchweek 43 of the EFL Championship.

The Canaries' play-off hopes have bitten the dust after some indifferent form in the run-in and they are currently in 13th position. In their last encounter, Johannes Thorup's team were edged out 2-1 by automatic promotion hopefuls Burnley.

Portsmouth, meanwhile, are still in the relegation picture in 19th spot. Last time out, John Mousinho's team picked up a point thanks to a 2-2 against Derby County, but Pompey need to remedy their ropey away form (one win and 11 losses in their last 12 Championship games) fast to give their survival hopes a boost.

The last meeting between the two teams ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

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Lucas La Torre (Norwich City FC Brasil - The Brazilian Canaries): One more season at Championship level has been confirmed, and now the focus has to be on improving the squad and injecting some badly-needed consistency for a promotion tilt next term.

For the Portsmouth game, we may see some changes to the squad as the manager runs the rule over some fringe players.

Thorup's mission is clear - and the future starts now.

On the ball, City!

Prediction: 2-0

Freddie Webb (Pompey News Now): It’s all getting a bit tense at this point. Pompey just about survived losing a relegation six-pointer against Derby. Warrior Rob Atkinson, suffering from a chest infection and stomach pains, guided a last minute header into the bottom corner for a 2-2 draw. Fratton Park breathed a sigh of relief as they managed to avoid disaster, but the job is not yet done. A lack of composure put The Blues in the position to lose, and that’s something that can’t happen with four games to go.

Carrow Road looks a daunting prospect for Portsmouth, with Borja Sainz and Josh Sargent being the pinnacle of Norwich’s attacking force. Coupled with The Blues wretched away record - second lowest in the league - it looks on paper like it could be a miserable Good Friday. There are a few positives. With Norwich being ten points off the play-off places, and manager Johannes Hoff Thorup having to come out in the press to tell his players to play up for a new contract or put themselves in the shop window, there’s a possibility they’ll be on the beach. They’re also one of the poorest defensive teams in the league, conceding 58 goals compared to 47.7 xGA. This poses an opportunity for Pompey that they can, and are, capable of capitalising on.

Prediction: 2-3

Predicted lineups

Norwich City: Angus Gunn, Kellen Fisher, José Cordoba, Shane Duffy, Jack Stacey, Jacob Wright, Jacob Sorensen, Emiliano Marcondes, Marcelino Núñez, Borja Sainz, Josh Sargent

Portsmouth: Nicolas Schmid, Zak Swanson, Regan Poole, Rob Atkinson, Connor Ogilvie, Isaac Hayden, Freddie Potts, Matt Ritchie, Adil Aouchiche, Josh Murphy, Colby Bishop

Unavailable

Norwich City

Portsmouth

Last starting XIs

Norwich City ( vs Burnley 2025-04-11): Angus Gunn, Kellen Fisher, Shane Duffy, Ruairi McConville, José Cordoba, Jacob Wright, Jacob Sorensen, Emiliano Marcondes, Anis Slimane, Kenny McLean, Borja Sainz

Portsmouth ( vs Derby County 2025-04-12): Nicolas Schmid, Zak Swanson, Regan Poole, Rob Atkinson, Connor Ogilvie, Freddie Potts, Isaac Hayden, Colby Bishop, Christian Saydee, Josh Murphy, Matt Ritchie