FA Cup: Portsmouth vs Arsenal preview, prediction, team news and head-to-head

The Gunners are the competition’s record winners with 14 titles, and their most recent FA Cup success came in 2020, which also remains the last major trophy they have lifted.

Arsenal have enjoyed a strong season so far, sitting top of both the Premier League and Champions League league-phase standings. They are also in the EFL Cup semi-finals, where they face Chelsea over two legs.

Mikel Arteta’s side will be keen to add a deep FA Cup run to their campaign, and their journey starts against a Portsmouth side they beat during their victorious run in 2020. 

Arsenal head into this tie on an eight-match unbeaten run in all competitions, having played out a goalless draw with Liverpool in the league on Thursday.

The North London club have also been impressive away from home, winning their last three matches on the road, two of which ended with clean sheets.

Portsmouth, by contrast, are enduring a difficult Championship campaign. Pompey sit 21st in the table with 25 points, just one point above the relegation zone. 

A four-match unbeaten run to end 2025 offered signs of improvement, but a heavy 5-0 defeat to Bristol City in their first outing of 2026 underlined their ongoing struggles.

The two sides last met in 2020, when Arsenal claimed a 2-0 victory at Fratton Park on their way to lifting the FA Cup. Portsmouth have not beaten Arsenal since 1958 and are winless in the last 20 meetings between the clubs.

Portsmouth have a lengthy injury list, with Josh Knight, Connor Ogilvie, Florian Bianchini and Thomas Waddingham all set to miss out. 

Callum Lang, Josh Murphy, Colby Bishop and captain Marlon Pack are also sidelined, while Hayden Matthews and Mark Kosznovszky remain doubtful.

Arsenal will be without Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera in defence and are monitoring the fitness of Piero Hincapie after he was forced off against Liverpool. 

Arteta is expected to rotate his squad, with players such as Christian Norgaard, Mikel Merino, Ethan Nwaneri and Eberechi Eze likely to start.

Portsmouth: Schmid; Devlin, Shaughnessy, Poole, Swanson; Dozzell, Swift; Yang, Segecic, Blair; Kirk

Arsenal: Kepa; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Merino, Nwaneri; Eze, Jesus, Madueke

There is a clear gap in quality between the two sides, and even a rotated Arsenal XI should have enough to progress comfortably.

Correct score prediction: Portsmouth 0-2 Arsenal

Betting tips:

Arsenal to win

Arsenal to score over 1.5 goals

Arsenal to score in the first half