Pompey begin their third season in the Championship on home turf - and knowing fans' expectations will have gone up a few notches after a summer of spending bigger than before.

The Blues start 2026-27 boosted by a number of notable arrivals - with the likes of Rocco Shein, Marko Milovanovic and Abu Kamara having given notice that the club are upping their outlay in a bid to avoid another relegation battle.

That will bring impatience from some quarters, not wanting to wait too long for a first win, but as Pompey fans know as well as anyone, big spending does not always bring instant results.

That said, optimism will be all around when the Blues come out to face QPR in the season opener - with last March's 6-1 defeat at Loftus Road still fresh in many minds.

Boss John Mousinho told the Pompey website: 'I’m looking forward to getting back to Fratton Park, where the atmosphere is always very special, especially for that first home game. Our fans know the challenge we always face in the Championship and I’m sure there will be huge amounts of both realism and positivity.

'QPR have really developed in terms of the way they play, although a lot of their personnel at the weekend will be what we saw last season. We obviously know from the fixture at Loftus Road just how dangerous their forward players are and will have to be at the very top of our game.

'They will provide a really stern test and it’s a certainly a decent challenge for us to start the new Championship season. But we’ve obviously strengthened this summer and have done some business this week to bring in Abu Kamara and Benjamin Arthur.'

New signings are likely to be in the starting XI and on the bench but inevitably, the Blues do have some injury problems affecting selection, with Mousinho giving updates.

homas Waddingham has sustained an ankle ligament injury following a poor challenge at West Ham last week and is out for at least six weeks.

Zak Swanson is feeling okay after a foul on him in the same game while Connor Ogilvie is 'a fair bit away from returning' following knee trouble.

Marlon Pack should be available next week, along with Josh Murphy. But Franco Umeh will be out 'for a considerable amount of time'.

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