Pompey travel to Brisbane Road tomorrow looking for their first league win over Leyton Orient since 1976.
Team News
Adam Buxton suffered an ankle injury during the 2-2 draw with Reading U23's on Tuesday and won't be available. Paul Cook is contemplating changes from the side that lost 2-1 to Doncaster on Saturday.
Orient midfielder Robbie Weir and defender Jens Janse are suspended whilst former Pompey midfielder Nigel Atangana is a doubt with a groin injury. Paul McCallum should start against his former loan club.
The Match
Leyton Orient have only won one league game all season yet you won't find too many optimistic Pompey fans travelling up to East London tomorrow given their team's rotten record on the road as well as the knowledge that the O's have been a bogey team in the past. Nobody can ever forget that infamous 4-1 FA Cup defeat at Fratton Park, can they?
Add to that the fact that Orient have a new manager in Alberto Cavasin taking charge of his first league game tomorrow and the omens look bleak. It doesn't matter that he hasn't managed in five years and can't speak English, he will still find a way of beating Paul Cook's men.
The main reasons for believing this are that the back five have become unreliable in the last few games whilst Pompey have only managed to score a paltry two goals in five games away from home in the league. What can the manager do to fix these problems?
He has said that he has been tougher with his players in training and won't be afraid to give them a bollocking from the touchline if they're not performing. Whether that change in attitude will turn into results on the pitch remains to be seen but he may well change his starting eleven, too.
Curtis Main scored twice in the farcical Checkatrade Trophy on Tuesday night and may well earn himself a starting place if Cook decides to drop Chaplin to the bench in favour of a more physical striker. Kal Naismith may well lose his place after some sub-par performances recently.
Whoever plays, it will most likely be down to the midfield (the defensive duo in particular) to take control of the game. Michael Doyle and Danny Rose have been sluggish and need to improve quickly.
If they don't, then a third straight defeat awaits Pompey but even if they do, Orient have a hoodoo sign over them that means that despite losing to Yeovil and Newport at home this season and despite failing to score in their last three games, fate will conspire to ensure Portsmouth fans return from Leyton feeling miserable once again.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Orient
GK: Alex CISAK
RB: Nicky HUNT
CB: Yvan ERICHOT
CB: Tom PARKES
LB: Callum KENNEDY
RM: Gavin MASSEY
CM: Nigel ATANGANA
CM: Liam KELLY
LM: Zan BENEDICIC
CF: Jay SIMPSON
CF: Paul McCALLUM
Pompey
GK: David FORDE
RB: Gareth EVANS
CB: Christian BURGESS
CB: Matt CLARKE
LB: Enda STEVENS
DM: Michael DOYLE
DM: Danny ROSE
RM: Gary ROBERTS
AM: Carl BAKER
LM: Milan LALKOVIC
CF: Curtis MAIN
Last Time: Leyton Orient 3 Portsmouth 2 (League Two - 26/12/2015)
Connor Essam's early own goal gave Pompey fans reason to cheer but the game was turned on its head when Adam Webster was sent off and Jay Simpson equalised with the resulting penalty.
Ollie Palmer then scored right before half-time and then again after the break despite Mathieu Baudry also receiving a red card. Gareth Evans pulled one back but despite throwing the kitchen sink at Alex Cisak, it was festive gloom for Paul Cook's men.
My Prediction
As if Pompey's poor away form wasn't enough reason to predict defeat, there are simply too many factors working against them to believe that Pompey will take anything from Brisbane Road tomorrow.
Leyton Orient 2 Portsmouth 0