Roy Keane's side have lost their last nine games away from the Stadium of Light, and have only picked up 2 points from 39 available on the road. It's safe to say that only a win will do for Pompey tomorrow.
Sunderland deservedly beat a very weakened and unsettled Pompey team back in January but their goalscorer, Kieran Richardson will miss the game through injury as will ex-Scummer Danny Higginbotham.
One player to be wary of is another ex-Scummer in Kenwyne Jones who battered us in the reverse fixture, giving Sol Campbell a torrid time and so I expect the focus of the match will be on the battle between these two players again.
Harry Redknapp is likely to revert back to a 4-4-2 formation at home that served us well against Chelsea with Jermain Defoe being restored to the attack alongside Milan Baros.
David James had a stomach bug yesterday but should start and so the only real dilemma for Harry is deciding who to play in the centre of midfield with Diarra, Diop, Muntari, Hughes and Davis all vying for two places as Pedro Mendes is injured.
A year ago this would have been a home banker but our form at Fratton Park hasn't been anything to boast about this season and we always have a habit of making things hard for ourselves at home so we could be in for a frustrating afternoon, especially if Roy Keane sets his team out for a draw from the start.
Still, we have plenty of firepower up front to deal with this kind of problem now and a strong midfield and defence to make sure that the visitors don't get anything from this game. On paper this is probably the easiest game we have left and so we must make that count by winning it!
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: David JAMES
RB: Glen JOHNSON
CB: Sol CAMPBELL
CB: Sylvain DISTIN
LB: Hermann HREIDARSSON
RM: John UTAKA
CM: Sulley MUNTARI
CM: Lassana DIARRA
LM: Niko KRANJCAR
CF: Milan BAROS
CF: Jermain DEFOE
Bench: Jamie ASHDOWN, Lucien AUBEY, Richard HUGHES, Papa BOUBA DIOP, KANU
Sunderland
GK: Craig GORDON
RB: Phil BARDSLEY
CB: Nyron NOSWORTHY
CB: Johnny EVANS
LB: Danny COLLINS
RM: Daryl MURPHY
CM: Dean WHITEHEAD
CM: Dickson ETUHU
LM: Andy REID
CF: Michael CHOPRA
CF: Kenwyne JONES
Bench: Marton FULOP, Paul McSHANE, Grant LEADBITTER, Roy O'DONOVAN, Rade PRICA
Last Time: Pompey 2 Sunderland 1
The already relegated Black Cats arrived at Fratton Park and most Pompey fans thought that we would roll them over in a game we simply had to win to keep our "Great Escape" going.
Sunderland then shocked the home crowd as Tommy Miller tapped in during the second half but thankfully Svetoslav Todorov equalised with a curling effort a few minutes later.
Just when it looked like the game would end in a draw, Kevin Kyle inexplicably handled in the area to gift us a penalty. The crowd held their breath but Matt Taylor buried it to send the Fratton Park into raptures as survival was within touching distance.
Pundit Watch
Lawro: Home Win (2-0)
Sky Sports: Home Win (2-1)
Soccernet: Home Win
Footy-Mad: Home Win
My Prediction: Home Win (3-1)