Pompey will be looking to bounce back from their defeat at Doncaster with a victory at home to hapless Leyton Orient tomorrow.
Team News
Curtis Main remains sidelined with an abdominal injury but there are no new injury concerns for Paul Cook otherwise.
Sam Dalby, Liam Kelly and Robbie Weir are all sidelined with ankle, hamstring and knee injuries respectively but Nigel Atangana will play against his former club for the first time after a gentleman's agreement prevented him from doing so last year.
The Match
Whilst last Thursday's loss at the Keepmoat was disappointing, tomorrow's fixture should represent the perfect opportunity to get the automatic promotion bid back on track.
Orient are a mess both on and off the pitch at the moment. They were hammered 4-0 by Exeter on their last away day and lost 3-1 at home to Barnet last weekend. The owner is a mentalist who won't put any more money into the club and relegation is a real possibility for him and O's fans.
Therefore, despite the fact that Orient always seem to get one over Pompey at Fratton Park (the memories of that 4-1 embarrassment will never die) there can be no excuses for not taking three points from this game. Paul Cook will certainly face some harsh criticism if his team don't win for whatever reason.
The manager has said that the fans will be happy with the team he selects tomorrow but what does he mean by that? Pompey supporters have been clamouring to see Conor Chaplin replace Michael Smith up front as well as a more attacking formation on home turf.
So, does this mean that Chaplin will play alongside another striker in a 4-4-2 formation? Will Gareth Evans be pushed further forward with Adam Buxton playing at right back? Probably not, as that would be too much to ask!
It'll certainly be interesting to see what team Cook picks and even his choices for the bench with Jamal Lowe possibly making his first appearance tomorrow.
With Plymouth likely to beat Stevenage, Carlisle likely to beat Morecambe and Wycombe likely to beat Yeovil (all at home) tomorrow a Pompey victory is absolutely imperative.
But if Paul McCallum or Nigel Atangana score as the visitors steal a 1-0 win tomorrow then Pompey fans will have to accept the Orient curse will never be broken!
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: David FORDE
RB: Gareth EVANS
CB: Christian BURGESS
CB: Matt CLARKE
LB: Enda STEVENS
RM: Carl BAKER
CM: Michael DOYLE
CM: Danny ROSE
LM: Kal NAISMITH
CF: Conor CHAPLIN
CF: Noel HUNT
Orient
GK: Alex CISAK
RB: Nicky HUNT
CB: Yvan ERICHOT
CB: Tom PARKES
LB: Callum KENNEDY
DM: Teddy MEZAGUE
DM: Nigel ATANGANA
RM: Josh KOROMA
CM: Michael COLLINS
LM: Gavin MASSEY
CF: Paul McCALLUM
Last Time: Portsmouth 0 Leyton Orient 1 (League Two - 06/02/2016)
A stunning goal from Jobi McAnuff was enough for Orient to beat Pompey on this occassion.
My Prediction
Hopefully the win at Brisbane Road has broken the curse the Londoners have had over Pompey. If so, this should be a straightforward win against a team that have little going for them.
Portsmouth 2 Leyton Orient 0