After having looked in real danger of relegation for most of the second half of the season, Portsmouth's 4–1 victory at home to local rivals Southampton on 24 April brought the club close to securing Premier League survival which became virtually certain six days later when, although Pompey lost 2–0 at Manchester City, two clubs lower in the table also failed to win their matches, leaving Portsmouth needing only a single point from their two remaining games to make survival certain. A week later, the club made sure of their safety with a 1–1 home draw against Bolton in their penultimate game of the season. With relegation rivals Crystal Palace and Southampton drawing their match 2–2 on the same day, this result meant that, regardless of the result of their match on the final day, Portsmouth could not finish lower than 16th place (eventually their final position).