Pompey will be aiming to win three league games in a row for the first time this season and pile on the pressure on the teams around them in the hunt for automatic promotion when they take on Newport County at Fratton Park tomorrow.
Team News
Kieron Freeman has a knock and won't be able to play in tomorrow's game but otherwise Paul Cook has no new injury concerns to worry about.
Medy Elito is available again for the Exiles after serving his ban whilst Cardiff loan signing Tommy O'Connor looks set to go straight into the side.
The Match
Most Pompey fans would have took seven points from the trio of tricky away games that Portsmouth have just navigated and those, added to the dogged win over Cambridge in the last home match has seen Paul Cook's men well and truly bounce back from the dire defeat at Barnet.
The only real dilemma facing the Pompey manager now is whether to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation that has served his team so well on the road or switch back to the 4-4-2 that was effective in seeing off Cambridge.
It seems like the former will be chosen which then brings another important decision in whether Michael Smith keeps his place or Marc McNulty starts. Whoever is picked should benefit from the form of Gary Roberts and Kyle Bennett who have been excellent recently and so it's no coincidence to see Pompey's form improve with theirs.
On paper, this should be a straightforward win as Newport lie in a mediocre 19th position in League Two and were battered 3-0 by Barnet on their own turf in their last game.
However, the Exiles have a reputation for being Pompey's party-poopers at Fratton Park. They ended Andy Awford's excellent start to last season by sneaking a 1-0 win and two seasons ago ruined Richie Barker's debut with an easy 2-0 victory.
It would just be our luck to see all the hard work undone with another stalemate against such lacklustre opposition but with Accrington hosting Plymouth tomorrow this is too big an opportunity to spurn.
A win would mean being at least only three or four points behind Argyle and/or not having to worry about Stanley jumping Pompey back into fourth with their game in hand, and that's not taking Oxford's match against Mansfield into account.
Tomorrow could be the day that Portsmouth's season finally looks like delivering what it promised back in the summer of last year. Hopefully Newport won't spoil the party this time!
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: Ryan FULTON
RB: Ben DAVIES
CB: Christian BURGESS
CB: Adam WEBSTER
LB: Enda STEVENS
DM: Michael DOYLE
DM: Danny HOLLANDS
RM: Gareth EVANS
AM: Gary ROBERTS
LM: Kyle BENNETT
CF: Marc McNULTY
Newport
GK: Joe DAY
RB: Danny HOLMES
CB: Darren JONES
CB: Janoi DONACIEN
LB: Andrew HUGHES
RM: Jan KLUKOWSKI
CM: Tommy O'CONNOR
CM: Mark BYRNE
LM: Medy ELITO
CF: Scott BODEN
CF: Conor WILKINSON
Last Time: Portsmouth 0 Newport County 1 (League Two - 30/08/2014)
A scrappy game was settled by a late Andy Sandell free kick as Pompey's unbeaten start to the season came to an end.
My Prediction
You have to be confident that Pompey will win this game now they are in form but there will always be that niggle in the back of the mind that will believe Pompey will blow their big chance against such droll opposition. Not this time.
Portsmouth 2 Newport County 0