Leeds United vs Portsmouth FC Preview
Leeds United welcomes Championship new boys Portsmouth to Elland Road in their season opener on August 10 at 12:30 pm. The Whites begin their season looking to avenge their agonising loss in the playoff final last campaign.
Pompey is finally back in the Championship after 12 years in the bottom two tiers of the football league following their title win in 2024. Can they come back with a bang or will Leeds get their title surge up and running?
Leeds United vs Portsmouth FC Head-To-Head and Key Stats
This will be the first time these sides have met in over 12 years, having last clashed in February 2012. It was a 0-0 draw at Fratton Park and Pompey suffered relegation from the Championship later that season. Their financial issues caught up to them, sending the club on a downward spiral.
The paths of these two sides since their last meeting could not have been more different. Leeds have enjoyed some fantastic football, even reaching as high as the Premier League. However, good things don’t often last and now they find themselves as one of the best teams in the Championship.
Pompey arrives in the second tier after four years in League Two and seven in League One. Head coach John Mousinho masterminded their long-awaited exit from the third tier of English football.
After an impressive first three months in the job that ended with an 11-match unbeaten run, Mousinho prepared his Portsmouth squad for his first full season as coach in 2023/24. Fans responded well to his intense press, high defensive line, and the freedom he gave young, exciting players like Abu Kamara and Paddy Lane.
Despite major injuries to players in their starting 11 throughout the season, Pompey rarely looked like anything other than title winners through 23/24. Regan Poole, Joe Morrell and Alex Robertson all had season-ending injuries and the likes of Tino Anjorin and Conor Ogilvie had lengthy spells on the sidelines.
A 17-game unbeaten run between January and April secured the League One title for Pompey with two games to spare. The Blues core remained sturdy throughout preseason with Joe Morrell and Joe Rafferty the only notable departures. Colby Bishop netted 21 times last season and will remain at Pompey as will young winger Paddy Lane who scored 12 from the left. Club Captain Marlon Pack extended his deal at Fratton Park in June. The local lad recorded nine assists for the Blues last season.
Leeds United faced their first season back in the Championship in 2023/24 after a two-year stay in the Premier League. Head coach Daniel Farke had an embarrassment of riches at his disposal, boasting several players of top-tier quality.
The Whites started slowly, despite their obvious talent, winning just one of their first five games. A solid run of form in October and December saw them climb up the table, sitting third for 12 game weeks. United went on an even stronger run between January and April with 13 wins and two draws from 15 games to climb into an automatic promotion position.
Leeds’s wealth of attacking talent buoyed them throughout that run. Youngster Crysencio Summerville netted 19 league goals during the campaign and Daniel James and Joel Piroe chipped in with 13 each.
However, their form took a nosedive towards the end of the season. Farke’s team lost four of their last six games, fell out of the top two and faced a daunting playoff run to rescue their Premier League hopes. An underwhelming Southampton side dashed those hopes in the final, where Leeds lost 1-0.
Leeds faced a mass exodus during the summer after they failed to gain promotion. Crysencio Summerville, Glen Kamara, Luke Ayling, Diego Llorente, Marc Roca, Robin Koch and highly-rated youngster Archie Gray departed the club.
Farke still boasts an incredible team for this level. They bolstered the defence with the arrival of Joe Rodon as part of the Gray deal. They also signed Jayden Bogle from Sheffield United. The likes of Georginio Rutter, Willy Gnonto, Pascal Struijk and Brendon Aaronson remain at the club.
Leeds United vs Portsmouth FC Predictions
Correct score prediction: Leeds United 3-0 Portsmouth
Leeds must start stronger than they did in 2023, and this is a perfect opportunity to do so. Pompey’s quality is nowhere near the hosts on paper. Mousinho has achieved so much in a short period, but the Championship is another beast entirely. His Portsmouth side faces the toughest possible trip in the league for their season opener. Our soccer prediction is for a Leeds victory on Saturday.
Promotion is more than just a goal for Leeds United this season, it is imperative. The Whites have a squad whose quality is outrageous for this level, hence their position as favourites in our Championship predictions.
That comes at a price, quite literally. Their wage bill is the highest in the Championship at £40.76 million per year. That is not sustainable at this level without the lucrativeness of Premier League TV rights and prize money. Without promotion, they could be looking at financial troubles harkening back to the days they ‘flew too close to the sun’ in the early noughties.
Portsmouth fans were left reeling at the opening fixtures for the new season. They face an incredibly tough return to the Championship and must strengthen the squad ahead of this run.
Pompey experienced a flurry of transfer activity last week. Former Blue, Matt Ritchie, returned to the club after 13 years on a free transfer. He brings some much-needed experience to the squad. Andre Dozzell arrived on a free transfer after being on trial with Sheffield United and Elias Sorensen signed for £350k after scoring 24 goals in the Danish Second Division last year.
✍️ Welcome to #Pompey, Elias Sørensen!
🔵 The forward joins from Esbjerg for an undisclosed fee and signs a three-year deal.
— Portsmouth FC (@Pompey) August 2, 2024
Their squad is starting to take shape, but there are still areas to improve. Abu Kamara spent a season on loan at Pompey last year and endeared himself to the Fratton faithful after an excellent campaign.
He returned to Norwich and with no permanent transfer on the horizon. Instead, the Blues signed Josh Murphy and Sammy Silvera. Neither play with the same directness and quick feet that Kamara does. They have lost some attacking edge with his absence. This will make it harder to penetrate a strong Leeds defence.
The signing of Dozzell boosts a midfield that looked weak. The former QPR man has bags of Championship experience, something teammate Owen Moxon lacks. However, the midfield battle will probably be won by Leeds. Ethan Ampadu had an excellent campaign with the Whites last season, as did Ilia Gruev. That is arguably the best midfield pairing in the Championship and they can outclass Pompey in the middle.
😍 Gruev loves a tackle! pic.twitter.com/GkvtbxnP63
— Leeds United (@LUFC) February 8, 2024
Leeds has an incredible amount of attacking talent. Rutter, Piroe, Gnonto, James and Patrick Bamford are arguably Premier League quality. Portsmouth will be without star-striker Colby Bishop and will not have the firepower that Leeds boasts. The Whites outclass Pompey in every area of the pitch.
Leeds United vs Portsmouth FC Betting Tips
Anyone betting on the Championship winner this season will know Leeds are the most likely to lift the trophy at the end of the season. As such, they are overwhelming favourites to win their season opener. A bet on Leeds is worth 4/11. Leeds has enough talent in their squad to beat just about any team in the league. However, we think there are better value bets for this game.
The soccer markets will look favourably on a strong performance from Georginio Rutter on Saturday. The Frenchman notched 15 league assists last season. Only one player managed more. He chipped in with six goals and had an excellent preseason, most recently scoring in a 2-1 victory over Valencia in Leeds’s final warmup game. Wager on the attacker to score or assist in the game.
Marlon Pack will captain Portsmouth in their first Championship fixture in over 12 years. The midfielder had 12 goal involvements last term. As the set piece taker, he likes a dig at goal from range and averaged .90 shots per game in 23/24. We like a bet on the hometown hero to register a shot, worth 4/6 with our online sports betting site.
Leeds only conceded 16 goals at home last season. That was the best home defensive record in the Championship. Farke has improved his defence further with the additions of Joe Rodon and Jayden Bogle. Bet on Leeds to win to nil, worth 7/5. If you want to extend those odds, a bet on Leeds to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 is worth 2/1 at Novibet.
Leeds United Team News
Daniel Farke has confirmed he has a clean bill of health for Leeds’s first game of the season. Jayden Bogle and Joe Rodon will probably be handed debuts alongside Junior Firpo and Pascal Struijk at the back. Farke has a good kind of headache for the frontline with the likes of Bamford, Piroe, Rutter and Matteo Joseph all capable of leading the line. We expect Joseph to start after being featured heavily in the preseason.
- Leeds Predicted lineup: Meslier, Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Firpo, Ampadu, Gruev, James, Rutter, Gnonto, and Joseph.
Portsmouth FC Team News
Colby Bishop is out indefinitely after routine scans from the medical team found a heart issue. He requires surgery. Tom McIntyre pulled up with a hamstring injury against Wycombe in July and will miss this game. Regan Poole is still in rehab from his ACL injury and did not appear in preseason. We do not expect the defender back until at least September.
Josh Murphy is a doubt after being forced off in Pompey’s final preseason fixture. New signing Jacob Farrell will have to wait for his debut after collecting a knock to his knee in training.
- Pompey Predicted lineup: Norris, Swanson, Williams, Shaughnessy, Ogilvie, Pack, Dozzell, Lane, Lang, Silvera, and Yengi.
