Southampton vs Portsmouth Preview: Recent matchups, form

Southampton welcome fierce local rivals Portsmouth to St Mary's Stadium on Sunday afternoon as they look to kickstart their season after a stuttering start to life back in the Championship.

The South Coast Derby remains one of English football's most passionate rivalries, and with both sides close in the table, the stakes are as high as ever.

Southampton have found the Championship a tough adjustment following relegation from the Premier League, with just one win from their opening four matches.

New manager Will Still oversaw a summer of upheaval, with 11 first-team departures, including Kyle Walker-Peters on a free transfer, while Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling both departed for fees in excess of £35 million each.

Nine players arrived to reshape the squad, including highly rated England U21 international Tom Fellows, but consistency has been hard to find.

After opening the season with a dramatic late 96th-minute winner from Jack Stephens against newly promoted Wrexham, the Saints drew with Ipswich, lost to Stoke, and were held by Watford heading into the international break.

Their Carabao Cup form has offered a silver lining, with victories over Northampton Town and Norwich City setting up a mouthwatering third-round tie against Premier League champions Liverpool later this month.

Still, the Southampton boss knows that nothing would endear him to the fans more than a derby win over Portsmouth.

Pompey, meanwhile, have enjoyed a steadier start, collecting two wins, a draw, and a defeat from their first four Championship outings to sit 10th in the table, two points ahead of their rivals.

John Mousinho's side have built their early momentum on defensive resilience, keeping two clean sheets and conceding just three times.

They opened with a narrow 1-0 win away at Oxford United before back-to-back defeats to Reading and Norwich in the EFL Cup halted their progress.

A battling draw at West Brom steadied the ship before Andre Dozzell's third goal for the club earned them a gritty 1-0 win over Preston North End prior to the international break.

That result gives Portsmouth an edge heading into this clash, though history has not been kind to them in recent derby encounters. While they are unbeaten in their last three league meetings with Southampton, they have failed to win any of the last three derbies.

Pompey fans will be desperate to see a new hero emerge in this fixture, just as David Norris did in April 2012 with his unforgettable 94th-minute volley at St Mary's to snatch a dramatic 2-2 draw and etch his name into South Coast Derby folklore.