Pompey will be looking to build on their win at Doncaster with another victory over a Yorkshire club when Barnsley come to town.
Team News
New loan signing David Cotterill will go straight into the side and replace Jonathan Hogg who is suspended following his red card at Doncaster. Steve Cotterill is likely to revert to a 4-4-2 formation with David Nugent being pushed up front alongside Dave Kitson.
Aaron Mokoena is back in the squad now he has his work permit but the Pompey manager should (hopefully) stick with the same back four that kept a clean sheet at the Keepmoat Stadium.
New loan signing Paul McShane will go straight into the Barnsley team to replace Stephen Foster who has a leg injury.
The Match
Those of us who were hardy enough to travel to Doncaster last week were rewarded with the rare feeling of victory. The other 12,000-or-so fans who regularly attend games at Fratton Park haven't felt this since October 30th so it's about time that was put right.
David Cotterill's addition to the side should mean that Pompey line up in a 4-4-2 formation and Dave Kitson, whose son has recently been in hospital (which would explain the past sub-par performances), will get the strike partner he craves.
With one less man in midfield, it will be up to the impressive Joel Ward to do the dog work alongside Hayden Mullins but I hope this means we won't see the youngster push forward, as he has shown he is capable of scoring goals after his deft chip last week.
However, most importantly it is essential that Steve Cotterill resists the temptation to restore captain Mokoena to the side and leave the back four as it was at Doncaster.
Ricardo Rocha's presence transformed a nervy defence that would hoof the ball at first opportunity into a more calm, collected unit capable of passing the ball out of trouble. Given that Greg Halford played well alongside the Portuguese defender, I wouldn't expect him to be dropped and the same can be said for De Laet and Hreidarsson.
I'm not sure what to expect from the Tykes but I can only hope that this match is nothing like the absolute abomination I saw at Oakwell earlier in the campaign.
Adam Hamill scored the only goal in that game and whilst he has gone, youngster Jake Mellis has gone some way to filling his boots with two goals in two games so he'll be one to watch.
It is important we continue the good work started at Doncaster as a poor result tomorrow would again heap massive pressure on the team going into a crucial run of fixtures over the next six weeks.
I'm quietly confident we'll be going home happy after this one.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: Jamie ASHDOWN
RB: Ritchie DE LAET
CB: Greg HALFORD
CB: Ricardo ROCHA
LB: Hermann HREIDARSSON
RM: Liam LAWRENCE
CM: Joel WARD
CM: Hayden MULLINS
LM: David COTTERILL
CF: David NUGENT
CF: Dave KITSON
Barnsley
GK: Luke STEELE
RB: Matt HILL
CB: Bobby HASSELL
CB: Jason SHACKELL
LB: Paul McSHANE
RM: Frank NOUBLE
CM: Nathan DOYLE
CM: Jake BUTTERFIELD
LM: Jake MELLIS
CF: Garry O'CONNOR
CF: Danny HAYNES
Last Time: Portsmouth 4 Barnsley 4 (Division One - 02/02/2002)
A crazy game at Fratton Park began with Robert Prosinecki scoring a penalty after Courtney Pitt had been hacked in the box early on but Chris Lumsdon equalised with a curling effort that beat Dave Beasant.
Linvoy Primus then headed Pompey back into the lead before the break but surrendered it again two minutes after half-time as Chris Barker levelled the score.
But on the hour mark Prosinecki again gave Pompey the advantage with a superb solo goal and then capped his hat-trick with a free kick eight minutes later.
However, the celebrations were turned sour as Lumsdon scored from the spot and then Primus was dubiously sent off for a so-called "punch" on Mike Sheron who would then go on to score a stoppage time equaliser.
My Prediction
So long as Cotterill Snr. resists the temptation to tinker with the defence and Cotterill Jnr. can impress on his debut then I'm confident that Pompey fans will finally see their team win at home!
Portsmouth 2 Barnsley 0