Portsmouth dealt setback ahead of Championship fixture against Middlesbrough
Pompey have been dealt a setback ahead of their Championship game against Middlesbrough today.
The Blues went into today’s round of fixtures stuck in the relegation zone after their midweek defeat at the hands of Blackburn Rovers.
They sat 22nd in the table - below Hull on goal difference and one point worse off than Cardiff, whose 1-1 draw with Oxford in midweek helped move them up to 21st.
Both Cardiff and Hull kicked off early today against Swansea and Millwall respectively. Yet neither the Swans or the Lions could do Pompey any favours as both suffered defeats against the sides that sat directly above the Blues in the Championship standings.
Cardiff ran out 3-0 winners in their derby against Swansea, as Omer Riza’s side picked up their first home win since defeating Norwich at the beginning of November. Former Fratton favourite Alex Robertson set up the Bluesbirds’ third goal in a convincing win as the Welsh side moved up to 20th in the table on 27 points - four clear of Pompey ahead of their game against Boro.
Hull got the better of Millwall 1-0 in the capital thanks to a second-half own goal from the hosts’ Joel Cooper. The defeat was Millwall’s fifth without a win, with new boss Alex Neil left waiting for his first league victory with the Den outfit.
For Ruben Selles’ side, it helped ease the disappointment for their FA Cup exit at the hands of Doncaster Rovers last time out. But, more importantly, the win saw them move out of the bottom three as they currently sit 21st with 26 points ahead of today’s other Championship fixtures - including Luton, who welcome Preston North End to Kenilworth Road.
Pompey head into their fixture against Middlesbrough on the back of three straight defeats in all competitions. Yet they’ve won four of their past five games at Fratton Park, scoring 14 goals, and will be keen to keep that record going for the visit of Michael Carrick’s side.
John Mousinho’s troops can climb out of the relegation zone with a 4-0 win against Middlesbrough. But they’ll also need Luton to lose against North End as the Matt Bloomfield era begins at the Hatters.
On a positive note, the Blues will still have played one less game than their relegation rivals after today’s round of games. Meanwhile, botton-of-the-table Plymouth lost 1-0 at Home to QPR, as the Pilgrims extended their winless run to 13 games.
They sit bottom of the table with 21 points from their 27 games played.