Reading haven't had the best of starts this season. After an excellent point at Old Trafford they have been beaten away from home by Bolton and Sunderland and have also struggled to win at home, having picked up their first league win in four with a last minute winner against Wigan.
Due to the nature of our home form and the so-called "second season syndrome" that the Royals are suffering, I have a sneaky suspicion that Steve Coppell will opt for a 4-5-1 at Fratton Park and try to contain us and hit us on the counter, something Charlton did very well last season.
Reading do have a host of injury problems though with Bobby Convey, Glen Little, John Oster and Ibrahima Sonko all out. Whilst Coppell will be pondering who to play up front with Leroy Lita, Dave Kitson and Kevin Doyle all set to figure.
Harry Redknapp will also be wondering who will play up front as he looks to revert back to the 4-4-2 formation. Kanu is a doubt as he's struggling to shrug off the knee injury that he played with at Blackburn whilst Benjani and John Utaka only managed a half each at Burnley on Tuesday, although both are expected to be fit.
Which just leaves David Nugent as our only striker certain to be 100% fit. Will he start after scoring the winner during the week? I doubt it...
Redknapp faces another conundrum over Pedro Mendes' restoration to the starting line-up. Davis can't be dropped on his form, he won't drop Muntari whilst Diop has played well so far. Therefore I believe Mendes will be on the bench and Muntari could be forced to play on the left.
Whoever Harry picks, they should be too strong for Reading at home so long as complacency doesn't creep in. This is the only the second time in eight league matches that the bookies have made us favourites for so we have to make sure we justify that status on the pitch tomorrow.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: David JAMES
RB: Glen JOHNSON
CB: Sol CAMPBELL
CB: Sylvain DISTIN
LB: Hermann HREIDARSSON
RM: John UTAKA
CM: Papa BOUBA DIOP
CM: Sean DAVIS
LM: Sulley MUNTARI
CF: BENJANI
CF: KANU
Bench: Jamie ASHDOWN, Noe PAMAROT, Matthew TAYLOR, Niko KRANJCAR, David NUGENT
Reading
GK: Marcus HAHNEMANN
RB: Graeme MURTY
CB: Ivar INGIMARSSON
CB: Andre BIKEY
LB: Nicky SHOREY
RM: Stephen HUNT
CM: James HARPER
CM: Brynjar GUNNARSSON
CM: Kalifa CISSE
LM: Liam ROSENIOR
CF: Dave KITSON
Bench: Adam FEDERICI, Michael DUBERRY, Ulises DE LA CRUZ, Leroy LITA, Kevin DOYLE
Last Time: Pompey 3 Reading 1
Brynjar Gunnarsson got the ball rolling after he headed into his own net from a corner. Kanu then headed in Sol Campbell's cross in the second half to double the lead and then Mendes made the game safe with a rocket from outside the box. Doyle tapped in a late consolation following some complacency on our part.
Pundit Watch
Lawro: Home Win (2-0)
Sky Sports: Home Win (2-1)
Soccernet: Home Win
Footy-Mad: Home Win
My Prediction: Home Win (2-0)