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Sports Mole previews Friday's friendly clash between Havant & Waterlooville and Portsmouth, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Continuing preparations for their first Championship campaign in over a decade, Portsmouth will travel to Westleigh Park on Friday night to face Havant & Waterlooville in a pre-season friendly.

The Hawks have enjoyed a stellar start to their summer schedule ahead of a return to the seventh tier, whilst Pompey are back on home soil following a training camp in Croatia.

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Match preview

Having graced the top level of non-league football during the 2018-19 season, competing in the National League alongside the likes of Leyton Orient and Wrexham, Havant & Waterlooville have suffered a steady demise over recent years, with a difficult last term condemning them to seventh-tier football in August.

Following four straight top-half finishes in National League South, the Hawks endured a woeful 2023-24 campaign, picking up only 10 wins and 37 points from 46 league contests, meaning that they finished 23rd in the sixth tier and 13 points behind Hemel Hempstead in the safety of 20th place.

Havant's Achilles' heel last season was a leaky backline, with Friday's hosts conceding 92 goals in just 46 matches in the National League South, allowing 15 more efforts in than bottom side Dover, who had the second-poorest defence and collected just four wins throughout the term.

Looking to bounce back from the heartbreak of relegation to the Southern League Premier League Division South, the Hawks have commenced their pre-season schedule in sensational style, recording 5-0 and 4-1 victories over Selsey and Horndean respectively ahead of Friday's clash with Pompey.

A friendly fixture between Havant and Portsmouth has become a regular occurence over the past decade, although the non-league hosts have been unable to find a way to best their Football League opposition, with Pompey winning seven of the last eight meetings between the pair.

For the first time in 12 years, Portsmouth are back amongst the elite of the Football League after gaining promotion from League One during the 2023-24 season, ending a seven-year slog in the third tier following their League Two title-winning campaign of 2016-17.

After missing out on the playoffs agonisingly for three straight seasons between 2021 and 2023, Pompey did their utmost to avoid a top-six chase at all costs and gained possession of the League One crown as a result, finishing five points ahead of second-placed Derby County and 10 points in front of Bolton Wanderers in third.

Having lifted the FA Cup courtesy of a Wembley success over Premier League heavyweights Chelsea in 2008, Portsmouth have the pedigree to comfortably belong in the second tier of English football, however a glut of their top performers from last season will be taking in new surroundings.

Bagging a combined total of 33 League One goals during the 2023-24 term, Colby Bishop (21) and Paddy Lane (12) will hope to continue as major goalscoring threats for the Fratton Park club, despite neither men playing as high as the Championship in their professional careers to date.

Following a productive period of work at a training camp in Croatia, John Mousinho's troops returned to England earlier this week to face Gosport Borough in a friendly on Tuesday night, when goals from summer arrival Josh Murphy, Kusini Yengi and Jack Sparkes sealed a 3-1 win.

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Team News

After donning the captain's armband in the victory over Horndean on Saturday, Preston Woolston is an academy graduate at Havant who is expected to play a major part in the 2024-25 campaign.

Fresh from winning Academy Player of the Season at Portsmouth, Mitch Aston has signed for the Hawks and could face his former employers on Friday night.

Portsmouth fans will be hoping to get a close look at new signing Sammy Silvera, who has joined the Championship newcomers on a loan deal from Middlesbrough.

Last season's leading marksman Bishop missed Tuesday's friendly win due to family reasons, meaning that the likes of Callum Lang could start in attacking areas once again.

Jordan Archer has arrived from Queens Park Rangers to provide a new option in between the sticks, although 30-year-old Will Norris is still favourite to be the first-choice goalkeeper for Pompey.

Havant & Waterlooville possible starting lineup:
Dudzinski; Stanley, Austin, Atangana, McNerney; Wilson, Whittingham, Bradbury, Maloney; Seager, Kealy

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Norris; Williams, Yengi, Towler, Ogilvie; Pack, Stevenson, Scully; Lang, Murphy, Devlin

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We say: Havant & Waterlooville 0-2 Portsmouth

Despite netting nine goals over the course of their first two pre-season matches, Havant & Waterlooville will be massive underdogs at Westleigh Park on Friday night.

Portsmouth are likely to field different XIs in the first and second periods, however the overall strength of the Pompey squad should be enough to secure a comfortable victory.

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