Team News
David James could make a surprise return to the side after he was originally supposed to be out until mid-December. However, Younes Kaboul serves a one match ban after receiving a fifth yellow card of the season against Villa on Tuesday.
Better news for Avram Grant is that Steve Finnan and Papa Bouba Diop have resumed training and could play some part in the game.
Burnley boss Owen Coyle has to do without club captain Steve Caldwell who is suspended after getting sent off at West Ham. Andre Bikey is expected to fall back from his midfield role to replace him.
David Nugent can't play a part in this game as league rules state that he can't play against his parent club.
The Match
Every Pompey fan should remember the last time we played Burnley at Fratton Park. Svetoslav Todorov scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for Portsmouth to seal promotion from the second tier of English football.
So how ironic it may be that Burnley could be the team to virtually send us back to the Championship. Failure to win this match tomorrow will end all faint hopes of survival in the Premier League.
There has been talk of protests in the stands but I ask every Pompey fan going to Fratton Park to get behind the team for 90 minutes on Saturday and save any hate for the board until after the game.
Thankfully, the wages problem has been solved by yet another loan. I do wonder how we're going to pay these back but the immediate focus should be the Clarets tomorrow afternoon.
Losing Kaboul is a blow and I know we have the worst home record in the division, but we are playing a team who have the worst away record in the league and have conceded more goals than us this season.
However, Burnley do score plenty and their no-fear approach has won many admirers this season so I expect this to be an open game of many chances. It's just a case of which team can take their chances and hold their nerve when it matters the most.
I personally don't care how the match goes as long as we win. Anything other than that would spell disaster for Portsmouth Football Club.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: David JAMES
RB: Steve FINNAN
CB: Marc WILSON
CB: Tal BEN-HAIM
LB: Hermann HREIDARSSON
DM: Michael BROWN
CM: Jamie O'HARA
CM: Hassan YEBDA
AM: Kevin-Prince BOATENG
CF: Frederic PIQUIONNE
CF: Aruna DINDANE
Burnley
GK: Brian JENSEN
RB: Tyrone MEARS
CB: Clarke CARLISLE
CB: Andre BIKEY
LB: Stephen JORDAN
DM: Gary ALEXANDER
RM: Chris EAGLES
CM: Wade ELLIOT
CM: Kevin McDONALD
LM: Robbie BLAKE
CF: Steven FLETCHER
Pundit Watch
Lawro: Home Win (2-0)
Sky Sports: Home Win (2-0)
Soccernet: Draw
My Prediction: Expect a gung-ho affair and some tense moments but I expect Pompey will perform knowing that our future in the Premier League rests on this game. Win and there is hope, draw or lose and it's game over.
Portsmouth 3 Burnley 2