2025/26 FA Cup Third Round Lineups, Stats and Preview

FA Cup preview Portsmouth v Arsenal

Portsmouth centre-back Regan Poole says the second-tier club will “have a good chance” of extending their unbeaten run to four matches when Premier League leaders Arsenal progress to the FA Cup third round.

Pompey are one point above the relegation zone but have two matches in hand against third-placed Norwich City and have been helped by picking up seven points from their last nine available at home, including a 2-1 win over Charlton Athletic on December 29.

“Not many teams like coming to Fratton Park and we need to put them under pressure from the start,” said former Wales international Poole, speaking to Portsmouth website.

“That’s the kind of draw you want and we feel pretty lucky to get it, so we’re not just going to turn around and watch them play good football. We’ve got to face them.”

Arsenal continue a run of nine matches in 28 days in January as they attempt to progress beyond the fourth round for the first time since winning the competition in Mikel Arteta’s first season in charge in 2019/20.

The Gunners drew 0-0 at home to Liverpool on Wednesday, ending their seven-game winning streak in all competitions but moving six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

“With the timetable that we have before us and the situation that we have to face, what [the players] what we are doing is remarkable,” Arteta suggested.

“The desire they have to win and the consistency they show [is impressive]. We want to continue to improve and learn and every game is an opportunity to do that.

FA Cup Third Round 2025: Portsmouth vs Arsenal team news

Defender Connor Ogilvie, midfielder Mark Kosznovszky and striker Florian Bianchini are missing with knee injuries and are among Pompey’s long list of absentees.

Defender or midfielder Josh Knight (back) and striker Thomas Waddingham (thigh) are also out. Midfielder Marlon Pack, winger Josh Murphy and striker Callum Lang are all suffering from hamstring injuries.

Defender Hayden Matthews is doubtful due to an ankle problem. South Korean loanee Minhyeok Yang has been recalled by Tottenham, after scoring the third goal of his spell at Portsmouth with their 98th-minute winner against Charlton.

Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie was replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly in the second half against Liverpool due to a potential hamstring problem.

Defender Cristhian Mosquera and winger Max Dowman are out with ankle injuries. Full-back Riccardo Calafiori is absent due to an unspecified problem.

Portsmouth vs Arsenal predicted FA Cup line-ups

Portsmouth starting eleven: Nicolas Schmid, Regan Poole, Conor Shaughnessy, Ibane Bowat, Terry Devlin, Luke Le Roux, Andre Dozzell, Zak Swanson, John Swift, Makenzie Kirk, Adrian Segecic

Arsenal starting lineup: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ben White, Christian Norgaard, Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino, Noni Madueke

How to watch Portsmouth vs Arsenal: FA Cup TV channel, live stream online

Kick-off on Sunday will be at 2:00 p.m. GMT (09:00 a.m. ET / 06:00 a.m. PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is provided on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.

TNT Sports costs £29.99 per month via Discovery+, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a huge range of devices including smart TVs and games consoles.

Portsmouth vs Arsenal FA Cup 2025/26 Statistics

• Only Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City and Sheffield Wednesday have lost more home matches in the Championship this season than Portsmouth (5).
• Pompey have not kept a clean sheet in 10 matches, most recently in a 0-0 home draw against Wrexham on November 5.
• Apart from Swansea City (22.8), no team has fewer expected goals in the division in 2025/26 (24)
• They attempted the second (2,167) and completed the third (963) long balls in the second tier, although 12 teams could do better than the 44.4 completion percentage in that regard.
• Winger John Swift is one of 15 players in the Championship to have an average shooting distance of over 24 yards, scoring with one of his 16 attempts this season.
• Arsenal are unbeaten in 22 matches against Portsmouth, their last 5-4 away defeat dating back to March 1958.
• During that run, six of the eight occasions where they were held to a draw came at Fratton Park.
• They have won their last five meetings against Pompey by a total of 14-2.
• Three of those five wins came away, including the last win in which they won 2-0 in the FA Cup fifth round in March 2020.
• Arteta’s side have the best away record this season Premier Leaguescoring two more points (20) than Tottenham and Aston Villa with one game less
• Their two points per game average on the road is 0.3 ahead of the closest team in that regard, Manchester City