Pompey host Wycombe Wanderers again hoping to end a winless run of six games in all competitions.
Team News
Andy Awford says that Patrick Agyemang may have a chance of being fit for this game and Simon Ferry may also feature too. However, Therry Racon is still nursing an injury and won't be fit.
Anthony Stewart will miss the match after was sent off during Wycombe's 2-0 defeat to Dagenham & Redbridge on Saturday.
The Match
This is a very important game-in-hand for Pompey given that a win would see them climb up to 14th in the league and nurse any relegation fears that seem to be creeping into the club.
The Hartlepool game was pretty poor by any stretch of the imagination but at least the goalless draw stopped the rot and the clean sheet should boost confidence.
That was down to the more attack-minded players in the team willing to play a bigger role in the defensive side of the game. However, with a big crowd egging them on it wouldn't be surprising to see those players commit themselves further forward with those at Fratton Park demanding to see some attacking football, leaving the full backs exposed.
Wycombe come to Portsmouth on their own run of six winless games, albeit in the league, but their inconsistency means that this should be seen as a winnable match for the home side.
It seems that Awford has been working on the defence but it's about time our attacking players, Wallace and Connolly in particular, lived up to their reputations and show just how good they are as both have been lacklustre recently. Hopefully the latter is fit as Bird still doesn't seem capable of leading the line on his own.
Much of the pre-match talk will be about the new manager and the latest people to apply for the job, with Steve Claridge now in the running. Richie Barker is now joint-favourite for the job as Oxford have given permission for Chris Wilder to talk to Pompey about the vacancy.
A win tomorrow would be a huge boost for whoever ends up taking the job and it's about time we saw a performance that gives us some hope for the rest of the season.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: Trevor CARSON
RB: Joe DEVERA
CB: Sonny BRADLEY
CB: Jack WHATMOUGH
LB: Dan POTTS
RM: Jed WALLACE
CM: Johnny ERTL
CM: Simon FERRY
LM: Andy BARCHAM
SS: Ricky HOLMES
CF: David CONNOLLY
Wycombe
GK: Matt INGRAM
RB: Nick ARNOLD
CB: Gary DOHERTY
CB: Kourtney HAUSE
LB: Charles DUNNE
RM: Josh SCOWEN
CM: Stuart LEWIS
CM: Billy KNOTT
LM: Matt BLOOMFIELD
CF: Matt McCLURE
CF: Paris COWAN-HALL
Last Time: Portsmouth 1 Wycombe Wanderers 3 (Johnstone's Paint Trophy - 09/10/2012)
Fans had barely taken their seats when Joel Grant curled the ball past Simon Eastwood after just 13 seconds. Dean Morgan then scored a second thanks to some woeful defending before ten minutes had even been played.
Izale McLeod pounced on a loose ball right before half-time but Morgan scored a rebound from a penalty in the second half to win the match and embarrass Michael Appleton's men and send Pompey fans home miserable in the pouring rain.
My Prediction
A tough one to call with both sides in such poor form. It could be a cracker but more likely to be a draw littered with mistakes. Another deluge of rain might make the game more interesting!
Portsmouth 1 Wycombe Wanderers 1