Arsenal travels to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth in the FA Cup third round on Sunday, January 11, 2026, at 2pm GMT. The match will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate, with coverage beginning at 1:30pm.
Arsenal, who are currently leading the Premier League and Champions League standings, aim to avoid an upset against the Championship side. Meanwhile, Portsmouth is struggling in the Championship, sitting just one point above the relegation zone.
Team News
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta provided updates on the squad's fitness ahead of the match. Kai Havertz, who has been recovering from a knee injury since August, is likely to be included in the squad. Arteta said that if everything goes well, Havertz will be in the squad. However, Riccardo Calafiori is ruled out due to injury, and Piero Hincapie is a major doubt after being forced off during the match against Liverpool.
Portsmouth has a long list of injured players, including Mark Kosznovszky, who is out for the season with a knee injury. Josh Knight, Hayden Matthews, Callum Lang and Josh Murphy are also among the sidelined players.
Match Preview
Arsenal has won all four of their previous FA Cup ties against Portsmouth. The last time these two teams met in the FA Cup was in 2020 when Arsenal won 2-0 at Fratton Park. Arsenal is the most successful team in FA Cup history, with 14 titles. However, they have been eliminated in the third round in the last two seasons.
Portsmouth has lost their last three FA Cup third-round ties and their last five FA Cup ties against Premier League opposition since beating Tottenham Hotspur in the 2009/10 semi-final.
Mikel Arteta is expected to rotate the squad, with the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea coming up next week. Players like Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke could be given a chance to start.
Despite the potential for squad rotation, Arsenal's depth should ensure a strong lineup. Arsenal's priority is to win the English Premier League title, after finishing as runners-up in the past three seasons.
Predictions
Given Portsmouth's injury woes and Arsenal's squad depth, Arsenal are expected to win the match. A possible predicted lineup for Arsenal is: Kepa; White, Saliba, Salmon, Lewis-Skelly; Norgaard, Merino, Eze; Madueke, Jesus, Martinelli. SportyTrader predicts an Arsenal win with over 2.5 goals in the match.
