Oxford United vs Portsmouth Prediction, Lineups and Betting Tip Predictions

Oxford United vs Portsmouth Prediction, Lineups and Betting Tip

Match Details: August 5th 2025 | The Kassam Stadium, Oxford | EFL Championship

The long awaited start of the Championship season finally arrives this weekend, bringing with it some mouthwatering fixtures, and a first competitive outing for new sides, title hopefuls, and relegation battle.

One of these fixtures sees two of last season's relegation survivors face off, as Oxford United welcome seasiders Portsmouth to the Kassam Stadium, with both eager to get off to quick starts in order to avoid any early season discomfort.

Key Betting Tip: Half Time Draw at Odds of 2.05 on Highbet represents excellent value for the tip provided by our in-house tipsters.

Oxford United vs Portsmouth Predicted Lineups

Oxford United Predicted XI (4-4-2): Jamie Cumming (GK); Gregory Leigh, Ciaron Brown, Michal Helik, Hidde ter Avest; Luke Harris, Cameron Brannagan, Brian De Keersmaecker, Przemyslaw Placheta; Mark Harris, Nik Prelec.

Studded with temporary loan deals as a sto-gap way of ensuring promotion, the Oxford squad certainly has enough international experience to stay up. With more than half of their starting eleven coming from all corners of the globe, it is a rich mix of football backgrounds and playing styles that can bamboozle opponents.

With no games yet played this season, Oxford have avoided any serious injuries, and will have a full complement of players to pick from on Saturday.

Portsmouth Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Nicolas Schmid (GK); Connor Ogilvie, Marlon Pack, Jacob Farrell, Zak Swanson; Luke Le Roux, Mark Kosznovsky; Adrien Segecic, John Swift, Josh Murphy; Colby Bishop.

Keeping a largely similar shape to last season, Portsmouth have shown they can mix it up with the big boys - all they need now is more consistency against the more unpredictable sides, as they dropped a significant number of points against mid to lower table opposition.

With no games yet played this season, Portsmouth have avoided any serious injuries, and will have a full complement of players to pick from on Saturday.

Oxford United vs Portsmouth Current League Standings

With this weekend being the first gameweek of the season, both sides currently sit on zero points - the table will start to take full shape on Sunday evening.

Oxford United vs Portsmouth Head to Head Timeline

Historically, this is a very evenly fought fixture. Since 2013, the two have met 25 times, and a remarkable 12 have finished in a draw.

Recent Head to Head Meetings:

• 15/02/2025: Oxford UTD 0-2 Portsmouth
• 05/10/2024: Portsmouth 1-1 Oxford UTD
• 02/03/2024: Portsmouth 2-1 Oxford UTD
• 30/01/2024: Oxford UTD 2-2 Portsmouth
• 18/04/2023: Oxford UTD 1-1 Portsmouth

Oxford have managed just five wins in these 25 meetings, and haven’t picked up maximum points against Pompey since 2022. On that occasion, a 96th minute winner courtesy of Nathan Holland was enough to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory.

Oxford United vs Portsmouth Recent Match Analysis

Oxford United Last Five Matches:

• Oxford United 1-1 Leganes (Club Friendly)
• Oxford United 1-2 Port FC (Club Friendly Tournament)
• Arema 0-4 Oxford United (Club Friendly Tournament)
• Oxford United 6-3 Indonesia All Stars (Club Friendly Tournament)
• Swansea City 3-3 Oxford United (Championship)

With goals flowing much more freely in pre-season than in the Championship last year, Oxford always ensure they are an exciting team to watch. After consolidating their position in England’s second tier, coach Gary Rowett will now be looking at ways to move up the table, and it seems he has started in front of goal.

With 12 goals in four pre-season games, Oxford look set to be an attacking force to be reckoned with - though they scored 49 league goals last season, six of them came in their last three matches, a definite upturn in form.

Portsmouth Last Five Matches:

• Havant and Waterlooville 0-0 Portsmouth (Club Friendly)
• Reading 0-4 Portsmouth (Club Friendly)
• Farnborough 0-5 Portsmouth (Club Friendly)
• Portsmouth 1-1 Hull City (Championship)
• Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Portsmouth (Championship)

Notching two convincing, morale boosting wins in pre-season, Portsmouth will enter this season in a positive mindset. One of the favorites to go down before a ball was kicked in 2024, Pompey confounded their critics by finishing 16th, a spot and a point above fellow new boys Oxford United.

Impressive results against the likes of Norwich, Blackburn, and even title winners Leeds gave them a reputation of being difficult to play, and that seems to have stayed true throughout pre-season - if you catch Portsmouth on the wrong day, things can go down quickly.

Oxford United vs Portsmouth Prediction

Our advanced algorithm has analyzed over 200 data points to predict that the two sides will be level at half time, but in the second half, Pompey will turn up the heat and net a couple of quick goals to earn their coveted first points of the season. The model factors in current form, head to head records, player availability and tactical matchups.

Oxford United vs Portsmouth Betting Tip

Football Park’s Best Bet: Half Time Draw - With the two sides barely separated after 46 games last season, it is clear that they are evenly matched. Although it remains to be seen how their respective transfers impact their on-field play, one can guess that their signings will be of similar standard, and we reckon the two will play to a draw, at least at half time.

Players to Watch: Oxford United vs Portsmouth

Nicolas Schmid (Portsmouth): One of the driving factors behind Portsmouth’s survival last season, Schmid was a standout figure in goals for the seasiders. Keeping 8 clean sheets, and becoming known as the best sweeper keeper in the league, Schmid plays the role similar to Manuel Neuer’s at Bayern Munich - his two assists indicate that the Austrian is more than comfortable with the ball at his feet, and his 195cm frame intimidates even the most experienced scorers.

Gregory Leigh (Oxford United): Though classed as a left wing back, Jamaican Leigh has made the spot his own thanks to an unusual aspect - his finishing. Typically, wing backs are picked on their ability to deliver crosses into the box for other players to finish. Not Leigh; he is the man arriving in the box to get on the end of crosses, and his six goals last season saw him become the highest scorer wide defender in the league. Blessed with a rapid turn of pace, and an eye for goal, Leigh will have a big part to play in Oxford’s survival bid.

Stadium Details: Home of Oxford United since 2001, the Kassam Stadium holds 12 ‘500 supporters, with usually around 1 ‘000 of these being away fans.