Southampton factor should give Portsmouth FC all they need to avoid relegation | OneFootball

Portsmouth's reward for Championship survival will be a long-awaited reunion with bitter rivals Southampton

Portsmouth aren’t quite safe from promotion just yet but the allure of competing with Southampton next season should be all the motivation they need to give everything to their survival.

John Mousinho’s side made a very slow start to life back in the Championship, having been promoted as League One champions in 2024.

Pompey had a meagre 12 points from their opening 15 fixtures, which left them 23rd in the table, and worst off of all the newly promoted teams.

The club have moved up to 17th in the months since, but there are still just four points between them and the bottom three.

Given Derby County’s resurgence in form prior to the March international break, they still won’t feel safe from relegation at this stage, with eight games still to play.

Southampton motivation for Portsmouth

Mousinho’s side have 42 points from 38 games played so far, and will likely need as many as eight more points to feel safe.

Cementing the club’s status as a Championship team was their goal when the campaign began, and even a 21st place finish would be a great finish for Portsmouth.

This has been their first year back at this level since 2012, so remaining in the second tier would be a great platform to build on going forward.

It wasn’t until Colby Bishop returned from heart issues in November that things started to pick up for the club, showing that survival was possible.

And with now only eight games remaining, the prospect of staying in the Championship has been heated up with how terribly Southampton are doing in the Premier League.

The Saints are Portsmouth’s bitter rivals, and they have had the better of the two clubs over the last decade or so.

Southampton were in League One in 2010 when Pompey were relegated from the top flight, and the two teams have been in opposite directions ever since.

They’ve shared the same division just once in the subsequent years, with the two league fixtures in 2011/12 ending as draws.

Pompey have played their bitter rivals just once in recent seasons, losing 4-0 in the EFL Cup in September 2019.

But survival in the Championship this season would be rewarded with two league games against each other in the next campaign, which would be very exciting for supporters.

Bishop’s importance to Portsmouth’s survival

Bishop missed the start of this season, but he made his return to the side for their 16th fixture, coming off the bench to secure a 3-1 win over Preston North End.

This was third win of the term, with the 28-year-old’s instant impact highlighting how much he was missed in those opening weeks.

The striker has gone on to score seven and assist twice, with his performances being key to their rise back up to 17th.

Keeping him fit for the final weeks of the campaign could be the difference between comfortably staying up and sweating over their survival going into the final game.

Their 12 April clash against Derby in particular could prove the key moment in the run-in, and Mousinho will be hoping they have enough points to be safe by the time they face Hull City in their last fixture.

A solid end to the campaign, and Southampton will be Portsmouth’s