Southampton vs Portsmouth: Tonda Eckert is cleared for the derby, and Cyle Larin's back is the worry
By Margus Sellin · · 5 min
Championship · Matchday 9
Southampton
Portsmouth
- Kick-off
- Venue
- St Mary's Stadium, Southampton
Our call: Southampton win 2–1
Southampton's home attack is strong enough even if Larin is short of fitness, against a Portsmouth defence likely to be without Shaughnessy.
Logged 9 Oct, 09:30 CEST, never edited. We'll mark this call after full time.
In 30 seconds
- Tonda Eckert will be in the dugout: his six-week ban for the spying case is suspended.
- Southampton have won all four home league games this season, scoring 15 and letting in 4.
- Without the four-point deduction, Southampton would already be in the top six.
The story
An independent FA commission has found Tonda Eckert guilty over the spying on Oxford, Ipswich and Middlesbrough training sessions last season. It suspended his six-week ban until the end of next season and fined him £28,000. So he takes charge of the first south-coast derby of the season. The club paid more heavily: Southampton were removed from last season's play-off final and started this one four points down.
On the pitch they have been one of the better sides in the division. Eight games in, they are 13th with 10 points, but only West Ham have a better goal difference. At St Mary's they have beaten Stoke, Millwall, Swansea and Bristol City. The worry is Cyle Larin, who has 8 of their 22 goals in their last ten games and hurt his back on Canada duty. Goalkeeper Daniel Peretz also came home from Israel's camp with a groin problem.
John Mousinho's Portsmouth are 19th with 8 points from seven games. They draw and lose more than they win, and their defence is likely to be without Conor Shaughnessy, who went off against Blackburn on Sat 19 Sep with a groin injury. The sporting director, Rich Hughes, says he will probably miss Southampton. Marko Milovanović is touch and go with a calf problem.
The last two derbies were draws, 0–0 and 1–1. A Southampton win would lift them to 13 points; a Portsmouth win would take them above Southampton. This game is decided by Finn Azaz and the space he finds in front of a reshuffled Portsmouth defence.
Form
Latest →
Southampton
- 19 SepL1–2at WRECH
- 12 SepW4–1v BRCCH
- 8 SepW3–1v SWACH
- 5 SepD1–1at LINCH
- 1 SepD1–1at BIRCH
No wins away in these five.
Portsmouth
- 19 SepD2–2v BLACH
- 12 SepD0–0at CHACH
- 5 SepW2–0v CARCH
- 1 SepL0–2v DERCH
- 29 AugL1–2at BRCCH
Five goals in these five, two each against Blackburn and Cardiff.
Latest on the left. CH = Championship. OddsIntel match database, read 8 Oct 2026.
Team news
Southampton
- DoubtfulCyle Larin: a back problem suffered in the gym on Canada duty. Without him Southampton lose the striker who scores most of their goals.(reported)
- DoubtfulDaniel Peretz: left the Israel squad with a groin problem; the Daily Echo calls it a precaution. George Long would deputise.(reported)
- BackCaspar Jander: in training after a muscle injury in July and close to his first squad of the season.(reported)
Portsmouth
- DoubtfulConor Shaughnessy: a groin injury, off after 63 minutes against Blackburn; the sporting director says he will probably miss this game. Without him Mousinho needs a new centre-back pairing.(reported)
- DoubtfulMarko Milovanović: a calf problem; the club calls it touch and go.(reported)
- DoubtfulMarezi: a calf injury. He has 2 goals in Portsmouth's last ten games and did not start against Blackburn.(reported)
- DoubtfulKeshi Anderson: back in training, but Mousinho says he will not rush him.(reported)
- OutThomas Waddingham, Franco Umeh, Mark Kosznovszky, Luke Brooke-Smith: all out injured. Josh Murphy and Connor Ogilvie are close to returns, but this game is probably too soon.(reported)
Line-ups: confirmed about an hour before kick-off. They'll go under Updates. We don't publish guessed XIs.
Checked Thu 8 Oct 17:10 CEST: The News (Portsmouth), the Daily Echo (via The News), OneFootball, ESPN and the API-Football injury list. Reported = not yet confirmed by the club.
Southampton's top three scorers all started at Wrexham. For Portsmouth, Adrian Segečić started against Blackburn; Colby Bishop, one of four Portsmouth players on a single goal, did not, and the outlets we checked give no reason.
Portsmouth 4-2-3-1 · v Blackburn, 19 Sep
- Bielica
- SwansonDiaShaughnessyMeghoma
- Pack (key battle)Shein
- KamaraSegečićKavuma-McQueen
- Shade
- Larin
- ScienzaAzaz (key battle)Matsuki
- Ward-ProwseDownes
- ManningSchlotterbeckWoodBree
- Peretz
Southampton 4-2-3-1 · at Wrexham, 19 Sep
Both last XIs on a pitch
Portsmouth 4-2-3-1 · v Blackburn, 19 Sep
- Bielica
- SwansonDiaShaughnessyMeghoma
- Pack (key battle)Shein
- KamaraSegečićKavuma-McQueen
- Shade
- Larin
- ScienzaAzaz (key battle)Matsuki
- Ward-ProwseDownes
- ManningSchlotterbeckWoodBree
- Peretz
Southampton 4-2-3-1 · at Wrexham, 19 Sep
Who to watch
The duel to watch: Finn Azaz against Marlon Pack. Azaz plays in the middle of the three behind Larin and has 3 goals in Southampton's last ten games. Pack sits in front of a back four that is likely to be rebuilt without Shaughnessy. If Pack follows Azaz, Leo Scienza and Kuryu Matsuki get room inside; if he does not, Azaz turns and runs at a new centre-back pairing.
Southampton
Cyle Larin
If he is fit, Portsmouth's biggest problem.
- 8
- goals, Southampton's last 10
Southampton
Leo Scienza
Starts in the three behind Larin and shares the goals with Azaz.
- 3
- goals, Southampton's last 10
Portsmouth
Adrian Segečić
Portsmouth's likeliest scorer from midfield.
- 2
- goals, Portsmouth's last 10
Goals in each side's last ten games, all competitions. OddsIntel match database, read 8 Oct 2026.
Head-to-head
Every meeting we hold (5, back to 2011). Four were draws; the one win was Southampton's 4–0 at Fratton Park in the League Cup in 2019.
Result for Southampton
- 25 Jan 2026Portsmouth v SouthamptonChampionship, Portsmouth1–1D
- 14 Sep 2025Southampton v PortsmouthChampionship, Southampton0–0D
- 24 Sep 2019Portsmouth v SouthamptonLeague Cup, Portsmouth0–4W
- 7 Apr 2012Southampton v PortsmouthChampionship, Southampton2–2D
- 18 Dec 2011Portsmouth v SouthamptonChampionship, Portsmouth1–1D
Every meeting we hold (5, back to 2011). OddsIntel match database, read 8 Oct 2026.
Numbers that matter
Goals scored, last ten: Southampton 22.0, Portsmouth 11.0 (higher is better)
Southampton score twice as many, and Portsmouth's ten include two pre-season friendlies.
Goals conceded, last ten · fewer is better: Southampton 14.0, Portsmouth 14.0 (lower is better)
The surprise: level. Four of Southampton's came in one League Cup defeat by West Ham.
Wins, last ten: Southampton 5.0, Portsmouth 2.0 (higher is better)
Portsmouth's two wins came against Lincoln and Cardiff.
Last ten games each, all competitions and friendlies. OddsIntel match database, read 8 Oct 2026.
Our call, explained
We have Southampton winning 2–1. Larin scores most of their goals, but Azaz and Scienza have 3 each in the same ten games, and James Ward-Prowse and Flynn Downes give them control in midfield. Portsmouth have scored more than twice only once in their last ten games, but they have scored in 7 of them, so we expect one.
Where this could go wrong. If Larin and Peretz both miss out, Southampton lose their main scorer and their first-choice goalkeeper on the same day. Derbies between these two have tended to be tight: four of the five we hold were draws. If we are wrong, a draw is more likely than a Portsmouth win.
Updates
Nothing has changed since we published. Next: confirmed line-ups, about an hour before kick-off.
Data note: results, scorers, the table, injuries and line-ups from our database (API-Football), read 8 Oct 12:10 UTC; team news and match details from The News (Portsmouth), the Daily Echo, OneFootball and ESPN.