How remarkable Fratton Fortress has positioned Portsmouth proudly alongside Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham City
It is to be expected that the Premier League’s leaders and divisional promotion challengers boast the finest home records in the top four leagues.
Yet buried among Liverpool, Arsenal, Leeds and Birmingham is an 18th-placed team fighting to avoid relegation.
That’s the remarkable scenario involving John Mousinho’s men, whose outstanding Fratton Park record over the last 10 league matches puts them shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the very best sides in the country.
The Blues’ haul of 23 points at home over that period - consisting of seven wins, two draws and one defeat - is bettered just by Leeds in the Championship.
Overall, also taking into account the Premier League and Football League, Pompey possess the eighth best record - yet are the only club positioned lower than fifth in their respective league.
Certainly Mousinho’s troops’ incredible Fratton Park run is driving their battle to remain in the Championship, with QPR scheduled to visit on Saturday.
Their sole defeat since October 25 arrived against Millwall last month in a narrow 1-0 loss, while there were goalless draws with Norwich and Burnley.
Otherwise, there have been regular victories, with top-12 teams Bristol City, Coventry and Middlesbrough among those to have perished on the south-coast in recent months.
Looking elsewhere over the last 10 league home matches, Liverpool (26 points) and Arsenal (24 points) lead the way for success in the Premier League. They also lead the table.
Leeds, as previously mentioned, are the only Championship club with a better record than Pompey, having dropped just two points during that period, totalling a staggering 28 points from a possible 30.
Unsurprisingly, Birmingham’s home league record is also impressive - which is to be expected from the runaway League One leaders.
With eight wins and two draws, they have 26 points. Additionally, they last night beat Bradford 2-1 at St Andrew’s in the EFL Trophy semi-finals to book a place in the Wembley final.
Looking at League Two, long-time leaders Walsall have taken 24 points from their last 10 home fixtures - which is one more than Pompey.
However, Bradford do slightly buck the trend. Positioned in fifth, outside of the automatic promotion positions, they have 25 points from a potential 30 at Valley Parade, even bettering Walsall.
Then there’s Pompey.
Presently 18th in the Championship, clearly the Blues aren’t title challengers, promotion candidates or play-off contenders. Indeed, they are more concerned with relegation and a swift return to League One.
Nonetheless, Mousinho’s side have scored more at home than Birmingham and Bradford over the last 10 league games - and conceded fewer than Liverpool, Arsenal and Walsall.
The Fratton Fortress continues to stand firm, enabling Pompey to proudly take their best alongside some of the best sides across the English game at present. More importantly, that source of strength could well prevent relegation.