A full preview of this weekend's South Coast Derby at St Mary's.
The Blues are back in action for their first game of 2026 and it’s none-other than the South Coast Derby away at St Marys for a Saturday evening kick-off that awaits Jay Sadler's side.
Portsmouth will be without defender Izzy Collins for this fixture after she was sent off in the previous fixture, picking up 2 yellow cards in the 2-1 defeat at home to Newcastle United before Christmas.
Jessie Gale was recalled by parent club Arsenal on Friday evening so she will also not be present at St Mary's - Her time at Pompey is up.
THE OPPOSITION:
MANAGER
Simon Parker is in the dugout.
Over a decade ago he worked in the Saints Foundation, focusing on youth inclusion before starting his journey as head coach of Southampton FC Women in the FA Women’s National League. He guided them to a league and league cup double, ending his 2-and-a-half year spell with an impressive 89% win rate.
Parker made the move to second tier side Lewes in 2019 to become their assistant coach before being named head coach a year later. He then headed to Europe to join Portuguese side SC Uniāo Torreense.
The 39-year-old returned to England and the second tier with Blackburn Rovers and, after a 2-year spell there, made the move back down south with Southampton.
Parker has overseen 5 victories, 3 draws and 7 defeats across all competitions this campaign.
ONE TO WATCH
Our one to watch is number 14, Mary Bashford.
She came through the ranks at Charlton Athletic as a member of their Regional Talent Club before becoming an established member of the senior side.
Bashford made her debut for The Addicks in the second tier whilst still in her teenage years.
The midfielder made the move to the South Coast in July 2005, switching clubs for the first time in her professional career. Bashford scored a brace against Ipswich Town on her debut in the first game of the 2025/26 season.
She has a total of 3 goals this term.
TOP SCORER
Michaela McAlonie is the leading scorer with 3 league goals and 1 cup strike.
McAlonie started out in the Scottish leagues, making her first team debut for Hearts at just 15-years-old, before joining Spartans for top flight football.
She made a move to Hibernian in 2021 and scored 4 goals whilst bagging 10 assists in their title-winning campaign.
McAlonie arrived at Southampton in August and scored 3 goals in her first 2 fixtures against Portsmouth in the league and cup.
She wears the number 10 shirt.
CURRENT FORM
Parker’s side sit 7th in the WSL 2 with 15 points, 4 places and 5 points ahead of the Blues, who occupy 11th with 10 points.
These sides have already met twice this season, once in the cup and once in the league, with neither results going in Pompey’s favour.
Can Jay Sadler’s side take all 3 points in the South Coast Derby?
Pompey Live will be on air LIVE from St Mary's from 5pm - Kick-off: 5:30pm! Paul Marsh, Kirsty Roxanne and Dan Shaw provide full coverage of the game.
You can listen to the pre-match thoughts of the Portsmouth head coach below - He caught up in the week with Express FM's Jake Smith ahead of the match at St Mary's.
The only place to listen to this match is via Express FM through our FM frequency, DAB or Online, if you're not attending in person that is. You can also catch full reaction to the game on Monday (January 12th) evening's episode of The Football Hour.
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