Portsmouth vs. Arsenal—FA Cup Third Round: Preview, Predictions and Lineups

The visitors have won the competition 14 times—the hosts once in 2008.

Portsmouth and Arsenal last crossed paths in the FA Cup six years ago. / Visionhaus/IMAGO

Arsenal are aiming to keep their hopes of the quadruple alive by avoiding an upset at Fratton Park during their FA Cup third round clash with Portsmouth.

The Gunners are top of the pile in the Premier League and Champions League and will contest the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final with Chelsea next Wednesday, with Mikel Arteta’s men having been largely unstoppable this season. The unlikely dream of four major trophies in one season will survive should Arsenal conquer Pompey this weekend.

Arsenal’s goalless draw with Liverpool on Thursday night saw them miss the chance to move eight points clear at the Premier League’s summit, but they should take their frustrations out on their Championship hosts.

A sixth FA Cup meeting between the teams—the most recent being an Arsenal victory in 2020—serves up the possibility of a mighty upset, but Portsmouth’s league form suggests otherwise. The south coast side were thumped 5–0 by Bristol City last time out and are in a fierce battle to avoid relegation.

40 places separate the sides in the English football pyramid, but can the underdog spirit power Pompey to an FA Cup giant-killing?

Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to the game.

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What Time Does Portsmouth vs. Arsenal Kick-Off?

• Location: Portsmouth, England
• Stadium: Fratton Park
• Date: Sunday, Jan. 11
• Kick-off Time: 2 p.m. GMT / 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT
• Referee: Tony Harrington
• VAR: Not in use

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Portsmouth vs. Arsenal Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)

• Portsmouth: 0 wins
• Arsenal: 5 wins
• Draws: 0

• Last meeting: Portsmouth 0–2 Arsenal (March 2, 2020)—FA Cup

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Current Form (All Competitions)

Portsmouth	Arsenal
Bristol City 5–0 Portsmouth - 01/01/26	Arsenal 0–0 Liverpool - 08/01/26
Portsmouth 2–1 Charlton - 29/12/25	Bournemouth 2–3 Arsenal - 03/01/26
Portsmouth 1–1 QPR - 26/12/25	Arsenal 4–1 Aston Villa - 30/12/25
Derby 1–1 Portsmouth - 20/12/25	Arsenal 2–1 Brighton - 27/12/25
Portsmouth 2–1 Blackburn - 13/12/25	Arsenal 1–1 (8–7 pens) Crystal Palace - 23/12/25

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How to Watch Portsmouth vs. Arsenal on TV

Country	TV Channel/Live Stream
United Kingdom	TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate, discovery+, discovery+ App
United States	ESPN2, ESPN Select, ESPN App, fuboTV
Canada	Sportsnet World, Sportsnet One, Sportsnet Plus
Mexico	TNT Sports, TNT Go, Max Mexico

• MORE: Full list of FA Cup broadcasters around the world

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Portsmouth Team News

John Mousinho is battling a ridiculous number of injuries. / Scott Llewellyn | MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

As if Portsmouth’s challenge wasn’t hard enough against the country’s finest, John Mousinho is battling a mountain of injuries. Midfielder Mark Kosznovszky was recently ruled out for the season and joins plenty of his teammates in the treatment room.

Josh Knight and Hayden Matthews are both long-term absentees, while Callum Lang and Josh Murphy, twin brother of Newcastle United forward Jacob, could miss the remainder of January. The absence of Thomas Waddingham, Florian Bianchini, Colby Bishop and Connor Ogilvie only exacerbates Mousinho’s issues.

Portsmouth have also lost Tottenham Hotspur loanee Yang Min-hyeok, who has been sent to Coventry City for the second half of the campaign.

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Portsmouth Predicted Lineup vs. Arsenal

Portsmouth have been decimated by injuries. / FotMob

Portsmouth predicted lineup vs. Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Schmid; Devlin, Shaughnessy, Poole, Swanson; Dozzell, Segecic; Kirk, Swift, Blair; Chaplin.

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Arsenal Team News

Piero Hincapié came off injured midweek, / James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

Mikel Arteta will rotate his team for the trip to Fratton Park but he will have no choice but to leave Riccardo Calafiori, Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman behind for the clash as they recover from injury.

Kai Havertz is a doubt for this one as he still awaits his comeback. He’s lacking match sharpness and Arsenal are eager to avoid rushing the German back after such a lengthy layoff. Piero Hincapié could also miss out having come off early against Liverpool with an injury.

Fringe players will be handed opportunities against Pompey, especially with the Chelsea match coming next week. Ben White, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christian Nørgaard, Eberechi Eze and Gabriel Jesus are among those likely to enter the starting XI.

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Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Portsmouth

Arteta will make wholesale changes from midweek. / FotMob

Arsenal predicted lineup vs. Portsmouth (4-2-3-1): Kepa; White, Saliba, Salmon, Lewis-Skelly; Nørgaard, Merino; Madueke, Eze, Martinelli; Jesus.

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Portsmouth vs. Arsenal Score Prediction

Given Portsmouth’s mountain of injuries and far inferior squad, they have little to no hope of thwarting Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. In fact, they will be hard-pushed to keep the scoreline respectable, especially considering Arsenal’s wealth of options.

Arteta’s deep squad comes in handy for such occasions, with an array of stars fresh and well-rested for the journey to the south coast. Wholesale changes won’t prevent the Gunners from breezing into the fourth round.

Prediction: Portsmouth 0–3 Arsenal

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