Sunderland vs Portsmouth Prediction and Betting Tips | January 5th 2025

The EFL Championship returns with a fresh set of fixtures as Sunderland and Portsmouth lock horns at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. Both sides head into the weekend off the back of securing New Year’s Day victories in the league and will look to build on that result.

Sunderland returned to winning ways in their first outing of 2025 as they held on to see out a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United on Wednesday. This followed a 1-0 defeat against Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium in their last game of 2024, a result which saw their five-game unbeaten run come to an end.

Sunderland have picked up 47 points from their 25 EFL Championship games so far to sit fourth in the league standings, six points off first-placed Leeds United.

On the other hand, Portsmouth opened the new year with a bang as they thrashed Swansea City 4-0 at Fratton Park on New Year’s Day. Before that, John Mousinho’s men were on a run of two back-to-back defeats, losing 2-1 against Watford on Boxing Day, before wrapping up their schedule for 2024 with a 3-0 loss against Bristol City.

The result over Swansea last time out has seen Portsmouth surge from the relegation zone as they now sit 21st in the table, albeit only above the bottom three on goal difference.

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Sunderland vs Portsmouth Head-To-Head and Key Numbers

• With 42 wins from the last 114 meetings between the sides, Sunderland boast a slightly superior record in the history of this fixture.
• Portsmouth have picked up five fewer wins since their first encounter in August 1927, while the spoils have been shared on 35 occasions.
• Sunderland are one of just two sides yet to suffer defeat at home this season, picking up eight wins and four draws from their 12 Championship games so far — the division’s fourth-highest points tally at home (28).
• Portsmouth have failed to win their most recent seven away matches, losing five and claiming two draws since October’s 2-1 victory at Queens Park Rangers.

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Sunderland vs Portsmouth Prediction

Portsmouth kicked off the new year in style and will look to put together a strong run of form as they aim to pull clear of the danger zone. However, Sunderland have been near impenetrable at home this season and we are backing them to secure a comfortable victory this weekend.

Prediction: Sunderland 3-1 Portsmouth

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Sunderland vs Portsmouth Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result - Sunderland to win

Tip 2: Over 2.5 goals - Yes (There have been at least three goals scored in four of Sunderland’s last five matches)

Tip 3: Both sides to score - Yes (Both sides have also scored in six of the hosts’ last seven outings)