Portsmouth vs Tranmere Preview

Last updated : 23 February 2015 By Jim Bonner

Pompey fans will be hoping they won't be brought back down to earth after their team's 6-2 thumping of Cambridge when Tranmere visit Fratton Park tomorrow night.

Team News

Andy Awford is likely to pick the same starting eleven for the fourth consecutive game as Paul McCallum serves the fifth match of his suspension.

Striker Kayode Odejayi and defender Adam Dugdale are to be assessed ahead of tomorrow's match with fit-again Michael Ihiekwe available for selection for Tranmere.

The Match

As unforgettable as Saturday's result at Cambridge was, Andy Awford is right to tell his squad to forget about it and focus on tomorrow's match against struggling Tranmere.

Everything is starting to click for Pompey now thanks to some consistency in the team selection and the formation whilst the big players are starting to perform and are backed up by a solid defence. This all logically points to a home win tomorrow night but Rovers aren't to be taken too lightly.

On Saturday they ended a terrible run of form by beating table-toppers Shrewsbury at Prenton Park and in Micky Adams they have a manager who has had a hoodoo sign over Pompey throughout his managerial career, even when his teams haven't been very good.

There's also the fact that Adams was without a league win with his latest club until Pompey turned up at Prenton Park and were promptly turned over despite having hammered Morecambe the week before, so nothing should be taken for granted.

However, with everything now going well for Pompey there is no reason why another valuable win could be earned at Fratton Park. Three points tomorrow would see Portsmouth go twelve points clear of the bottom two and banish any lingering fears of relegation to the Conference.

Then we can start to look up the table and wonder what might just happen as the season draws to its conclusion.

Predicted Starting Line-Ups

Pompey

GK: Paul JONES

RWB: Josh PASSLEY

CB: Paul ROBINSON

CB: Joe DEVERA

CB: Jack WHATMOUGH

LWB: Dan BUTLER

CM: James DUNNE

CM: Danny HOLLANDS

CM: Jed WALLACE

CF: Ryan TAYLOR

CF: Matt TUBBS

Tranmere

GK: Owain FON WILLIAMS

RB: Danny HOLMES

CB: Josh THOMPSON

CB: Adam DUGDALE

LB: Rob TAYLOR

CM: Marc LAIRD

CM: Steve JENNINGS

CM: Max POWER

RWF: Jennison MYRIE-WILLIAMS

LWF: Rory DONNELLY

CF: Kayode ODEJAYI

Last Time: Portsmouth 1 Tranmere Rovers 0 (League One - 01/04/2013)

David Connolly tapped in Yassin Moutaouakil's cross in the 56th minute to score the only goal in a game which Pompey virtually dominated from start to finish despite the respective league positions of both teams.

My Prediction

Whilst there'll always be some doubt as to whether Pompey can keep this fantastic run going given that it would surprise nobody if they came unstuck against a side like Tranmere, the confidence and spirits are high around the club at the moment and so it's hard to not back them to win again.

Portsmouth 2 Tranmere Rovers 0