Pompey's undefeated streak in League Two will be under serious scrutiny tomorrow as they take on fellow promotion hopefuls Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium tomorrow.
Team News
Gary Roberts faces a couple of weeks out after suffering an ankle injury during the match with Barnet last weekend. Gareth Evans could be his direct replacement but Kal Naismith is also ready to step into the breach. Jayden Stockley is also available again after missing the last match due to becoming a new father.
The U's top scorer Kemar Roofe is expected to return to the side after missing their defeat at Northampton last weekend and defender Johnny Mullins also returned to training. Ryan Taylor is also expected to play against his former club.
The Match
Having got back to winning ways last week at Fratton Park, Pompey now face two tough away matches that will play a huge part in determining just how strong Paul Cook's squad really is.
Oxford are also hoping to be promoted this season despite having Michael Appleton at the helm, though it should be said that it looks like he may have finally found his level as his latest team ended last season well and were unbeaten in fourteen league games until last Saturday's defeat at Sixfields.
Appleton won't be the only former Pompey man hoping to get one over his former club as Ryan Taylor will also hope to prove a point to Paul Cook following his release from Portsmouth despite holding brief talks about staying on.
In previous years Sod's Law would dictate that the tall ginger striker, without a goal so far this season, would score the winner for Oxford but this campaign looks like that particular law will be avoided.
After all, ten-man Barnet's last-ditch header flew over the crossbar rather than in last weekend, Luton failed to make their temporary numerical advantage count when Ben Davies wasn't allowed back onto the pitch a few weeks ago and there have been no late suckerpunches or former players coming back to haunt Pompey so far this season.
Still, even if Taylor doesn't make an impact then Pompey will still have to keep an eye on Kemar Roofe who has scored a couple of spectacular goals this season and Danny Hylton also knows where the goal is. Callum O'Dowda and Liam Sercombe are also dangerous midfield players on their day.
As for Pompey, Roberts will be a miss but the squad is strong enough to cope without him. But who will start in his place come tomorrow and will Cook stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation or revert to the wing back system that swung last week's match in Pompey's favour?
Gareth Evans is the most likely replacement for Roberts but Kal Naismith may feel he deserves an opportunity to show us what he can do. Cook is also likely to stick with his trusted 4-2-3-1 system to begin with, especially as it tends to work better on the road which also means that Roberts aside, the same starting eleven from last week will begin at Oxford.
It should be a good match tomorrow as both teams will want to go for the win and have plenty of attacking players to do some damage. This one may come down to which side has the stronger defence on the day.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Oxford
GK: Sam SLOCOMBE
RB: George BALDOCK
CB: Johnny MULLINS
CB: Jake WRIGHT
LB: Joe SKARZ
RM: Liam SERCOMBE
CM: Callum O'DOWDA
CM: Kemar ROOFE
LM: Alex MacDONALD
CF: Ryan TAYLOR
CF: Danny HYLTON
Pompey
GK: Brian MURPHY
RB: Ben DAVIES
CB: Christian BURGESS
CB: Matt CLARKE
LB: Enda STEVENS
DM: Michael DOYLE
DM: Nigel ATANGANA
RM: Gareth EVANS
AM: Conor CHAPLIN
LM: Kyle BENNETT
CF: Adam McGURK
Last Time: Oxford United 0 Portsmouth 1 (League Two - 23/08/2015)
Craig Westcarr pinched a fairly late winner in this tightly contested match as Andy Awford's good start to the season continued. Oh, what a false dawn that was!
My Prediction
This is another tough away trip to call. A draw wouldn't be the worst result in the world here whilst a win would really make a statement of intent. But I'll play this one safe...
Oxford United 2 Portsmouth 2