Opta have predicted where Pompey & Co will finish in the table come the end of the 2026-27 Championship season

Pompey are predicted to retain their Championship status for a third successive year.

The Blues are also forecast to record their highest points total since returning to the second-tier as League One champions as head coach John Mousinho continues his fine work at Fratton Park.

But it’s not all good news. The Fratton faithful can expect another season of looking over their shoulders until late in the campaign, according to leading British sports analytics company Opta.

Pompey’s owners Tornante dug deeper into their pockets in the summer to avoid any flirtations with relegation this term, something the Blues have been forced to deal with in their two previous Championship campaigns.

Multi-million pound deals for Marko Milovanovic, Abu Kamara, Rocco Shein and Tyrese Shade were struck and 12 new players in total introduced to the group so that the Fratton Park side could consistently compete for positions higher up the division.

According to Opta, that business will certainly pay off. Mousinho & Co are predicted to accumulate at least 56 points come the end of the season, which is more than the 54 and 55 totals previously recorded.

They are also expected to be in the position to plan ahead for a fourth consecutive season operating at Championship level.

Yet their predicted higher points tally will only guarantee them a 16th-place finish, which is two places better off than last term’s 18th-place finish but equal to the placing earned at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

It’s hardly the headway many would have hoped for, with chairman Michael Eisner dreaming of leading the club back to the Premier League.

But in a highly-competitive league, for many it will still represent progress - even if the predicted five-point gap between a 16th-place finish and the relegation zone is also narrower than the eight-point margin enjoyed last term.

At present the Blues sit 19th in the standings with eight points from their seven games played. That’s one less match played than those around them in the table after their trip to Wolves was twice rescheduled.

Their first game back after the international break is the south-coast derby against Southampton at St Mary’s which kick-starts a run of five games in 14 days.

That promises to be a gruelling period for the Blues, who are already having to cope with injuries.

But here’s how Opta believes Pompey will navigate that and other challenges over the remainder of the season with their predicted final table.