We start off this Saturday against Sheffield United at Fratton Park. On paper this looks to be a straightforward home victory but the Blades have been in good form recently and always fight for everything on the pitch. A full preview of this match will be up on Fratton Faithful tomorrow but for now, I'll just say that this game is a potential banana skin.
Next up is a Boxing Day game against West Ham United for the second season running. However this time it'll be played at Upton Park and Alan Curbishley always seems to get the better of Harry Redknapp. There's no doubting that it'll be a tough match but we have got very creditable draws at Anfield and the Emirates Stadium so there's no reason why we can't go to Upton Park and get something.
Following that we have two key games, against Bolton away on the 30th and then Tottenham at home on New Year's Day. Along with Villa, I'd consider Bolton and Spurs to be our biggest threats to any place in Europe we're aiming for this season. The bad news is that both of these teams have already beaten us this season and we can't afford to get "doubled" by them if we want to finish in the top 6.
A game at the Reebok Stadium is always going to be difficult so a draw would probably be considered a good result by most Pompey fans. On the other hand we should be looking to beat Spurs at home with our strong form at Fratton Park coupled with Tottenham's dodgy away record this season.
On the face of it, we should be looking to grab at least eight points from our festive fixture list. That's assuming we win both our home games and draw the other two. I'd be pretty satisfied with eight but I don't necessarily expect it.
We'll probably get beaten between now and the end of 2006 but then one defeat and three wins still amounts to nine points. We're definitely capable of such feats this season, but I feel it'll be a case of keeping our squad as fit as possible whilst avoiding as many inevitable injuries as possible.
On a final note, Christmas is also an important period off the pitch too in terms of drawing up transfer targets. It's the final period of "pre-speculation" before the January sales begin so we might have a much clearer idea of who's coming to Pompey and who's leaving.
Until then, wrap up warm!