West Ham vs Portsmouth Prediction 8 August 2026

Last season collapsed from the opening rounds: Graham Potter lost five of his first six matches and was sacked in September. Nuno Espírito Santo took charge mid-collapse and nearly pulled it off: in the final 17 rounds his side averaged 1.47 points per game, which over a full season would have been good enough for seventh place. There simply wasn't enough time. Relegation was confirmed on the final day, and that day West Ham beat Leeds 3:0 - a rival's result decided their fate.

After relegation, the Portuguese manager stayed - new majority shareholder Daniel Křetínský insisted on it himself. Nuno's experience is relevant: in 2018 he won the Championship with Wolverhampton, finishing with 99 points. Rui Silva, who worked with him at Wolves and Nottingham Forest, has been brought back to assist him. The squad, however, will need to be rebuilt from scratch. Matheus Fernandes left for Tottenham for £85 million - that deal covered the lion's share of the hundred million the club needed to raise over the summer. Callum Wilson departed, and no new signings had arrived by the start of August.

Last season, their second in the Championship after promotion from League One, John Mousinho's side spent the campaign fighting relegation: 18th place, 55 points and just four points above the drop zone. The problem was in attack - top scorer Adrian Segecic managed 11 goals, and no one else in the squad could chip in regularly. The defence was just as leaky: in March, Pompey conceded six against Queens Park Rangers (1:6).

Portsmouth's cup record hasn't been great either. Last August they went out at this same stage, losing at home to Reading (1:2), and in the FA Cup they reached the third round - where Arsenal came to Fratton Park, drew a crowd of 20,611 and left with a 4:1 win.