PitchMath
Championship · 2026

Portsmouth 2–0 Cardiff City · Championship

2–0Full-time analysis

This page describes the completed match context. The result is not presented as a prior forecast.

Match at a glance

Portsmouth won 2–0.

Shots
1516
Shots on target
55
Expected goals
2.071.37
Possession
36%64%

Full time

What the match recorded

Portsmouth beat Cardiff City 2–0. Recorded in this match (Portsmouth – Cardiff City): shots 15–16, shots on target 5–5, expected goals 2.07–1.37, possession 36%–64%. This is what was recorded. It is not a claim that the result was foreseeable.

Pre-match record

What the data showed before kick-off. Kept for reference; it did not know the result.

Both teams have elevated corners records

moderate

Each team's season corners average is above the competition baseline.

7 corners/matchCornersPortsmouth · Cardiff City● 7.8 corners/match
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Both team averages are compared with the same competition baseline.

Window: season

MetricPortsmouthCardiff CityBaseline
Corners7 corners/match7.8 corners/match5.35 corners/match

Caveat: A shared historical pattern is descriptive and may not repeat in one fixture.

Recent scheduling adds useful context

moderate

A compressed recent schedule is recorded for Portsmouth, Cardiff City.

3.8 days ▲Rest daysPortsmouth · Cardiff City2.8 days
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Rest days and completed matches in the prior 14 days are shown directly.

Window: previous 14 days

MetricPortsmouthCardiff CityBaseline
Rest days3.8 days2.8 days—
Matches last 14 days2 matches3 matches—

Caveat: The database does not describe travel, rotation decisions or player-level workload.

Portsmouth show a distinct attacking-volume record

moderate

Portsmouth's shot volume and the opposing shot-allowance context sit above their competition baselines.

15.8 shots/match ▲ShotsPortsmouth · Cardiff City16 shots/match
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Team shot volume is paired with the opponent's recorded shot allowance.

Window: season

MetricPortsmouthCardiff CityBaseline
Shots15.8 shots/match16 shots/match13.3 shots/match
Shots against12.2 shots/match14.8 shots/match12.9 shots/match

Caveat: Shot volume describes activity; it does not establish finishing quality or a match outcome.

This match

Match statistics

  • Shots15 shots16 shotsPortsmouth 15 shots, Cardiff City 16 shots
  • Shots on target5 shots5 shotsPortsmouth 5 shots, Cardiff City 5 shots
  • Expected goals2.07 xG1.37 xGPortsmouth 2.07 xG, Cardiff City 1.37 xG
  • Possession36%64%Portsmouth 36%, Cardiff City 64%
  • Corners5 corners7 cornersPortsmouth 5 corners, Cardiff City 7 corners
  • Fouls15 fouls12 foulsPortsmouth 15 fouls, Cardiff City 12 fouls
  • Yellow cards0 cards4 cardsPortsmouth 0 cards, Cardiff City 4 cards
  • Passes252 passes475 passesPortsmouth 252 passes, Cardiff City 475 passes
  • Pass accuracy63.5%81.9%Portsmouth 63.5%, Cardiff City 81.9%
  • Shots inside box12 shots13 shotsPortsmouth 12 shots, Cardiff City 13 shots
  • Blocked shots3 blocks4 blocksPortsmouth 3 blocks, Cardiff City 4 blocks
  • Goalkeeper saves5 saves3 savesPortsmouth 5 saves, Cardiff City 3 saves
  • Offsides5 offsides2 offsidesPortsmouth 5 offsides, Cardiff City 2 offsides

As it happened

Key moments

  1. 9′Krystian BielikYellow card · Cardiff City
  2. 31′Conor ShaughnessyGoal · Portsmouth
  3. Half-time
  4. 52′Marko MilovanovićGoal · Portsmouth
  5. 60′Ollie TannerYellow card · Cardiff City
  6. 86′Alex RobertsonYellow card · Cardiff City
  7. 90′Yousef SalechYellow card · Cardiff City
  8. Full time
Player changes · 9grouped by team and minute
  • 63′Cardiff City · 1 player changeJoel Colwill
  • 64′Cardiff City · 1 player changeRubin Colwill
  • 65′Portsmouth · 2 player changesZak Swanson · Ebou Adams
  • 69′Portsmouth · 2 player changesRyan Kavuma-McQueen · Colby Bishop
  • 83′Cardiff City · 1 player changeCian Ashford
  • 90′Cardiff City · 1 player changeCalum Scanlon
  • 90′Portsmouth · 1 player changeIyad Mohamed

Who started

Lineups

Show both lineups

Confirmed lineups as published before kick-off.

Portsmouth4-2-3-1
  1. Daniel BielicaG
  2. Benjamin ArthurD
  3. Conor ShaughnessyD
  4. Terry DevlinD
  5. Iyad MohamedD
  6. Marlon PackM
  7. Adrian SegečićM
  8. Rocco Robert SheinM
  9. Abu KamaraF
  10. Ryan Kavuma-McQueenF
  11. Marko MilovanovićF
Cardiff City4-2-3-1
  1. Nathan TrottG
  2. Joel BaganD
  3. Gabriel OshoD
  4. Calum ScanlonD
  5. Perry NgD
  6. Krystian BielikM
  7. Jack MoylanM
  8. Alex RobertsonM
  9. Yousef SalechF
  10. Ollie TannerF
  11. Chris WillockF

History

Head-to-head

Recent meetings between these teams.

Last 5 meetings

1Portsmouth
0Draws
1Cardiff City
Portsmouth — Cardiff City · Championship2–1
Cardiff City — Portsmouth · Championship2–0

Head-to-Head & Recent Meetings

Metric comparison

Team comparison

Season averages, with the sample size beside each metric.

Where the edge is

Season: Portsmouth favored in 8 of 13 directional metrics · Cardiff City in 3 · 2 too close

led this metric higher value (descriptive) too close

Window

Season

Portsmouth5 matchesCardiff City5 matches
1.4 goals/match ▲Goals scored5/51.2 goals/match
1.6 goals/match ▲Goals allowed5/51.8 goals/match
1.48 xG/match ▲Expected goals5/51.36 xG/match
15.8 shots/matchShots5/516 shots/match
4.4 shots/matchShots on target5/5▲ 5.6 shots/match
54%Possession5/5● 65%
7 corners/matchCorners5/5● 7.8 corners/match
11.4 fouls/matchFouls5/511 fouls/match

Evidence quality

How much supports this analysis

Grade B · Useful evidenceUseful evidence — limited
Season samples5 / 5home / away teams
Recent samples5 / 5last-five windows
FreshnessLess than one dayfrom nearest prior match
  • Evidence is usable but does not meet the strongest completeness threshold.

Known unknowns

  • Lineups, injuries, suspensions and tactical changes are not available in the retained dataset.
  • Some metrics are unavailable or below their observation minimum: cards.
Analysis cutoff: Sat, 5 Sept 2026, 18:00 UTC · analysis-v4

Team rankings in Championship

Goals per match rankingxG per match rankingShots per match ranking
TeamsPortsmouthCardiff City
CompetitionChampionship
Head-to-headPortsmouth — Cardiff City
MethodHow PitchMath calculates this

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