Championship’s toughest opening fixtures: how Portsmouth, Southampton, Leicester City and Co compare - according to experts

Anticipation is growing ahead of the new campaign following the release of the 2025-26 Championship fixtures.

Pompey begin the season on the road when they make the trip up the A34 to face Oxford United on August 9.

The Blues’ last visit to the Kassam Stadium in February saw John Mousinho’s men pick up just their second away victory of the term, with Andre Dozzell and Mark O’Mahony on the scoresheet.

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Pompey then welcome Norwich City seven days later before contests against West Brom and Preston North End round off August.

But which of the Blues’ fellow sides have the hardest opening fixtures?

Football analytics website Opta have used their power ranking to determine the difficulty of each club’s first four games of the season to discover which side has the toughest start to the campaign.

Here’s where Pompey rank.

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