AFC Wimbledon vs Portsmouth Preview

Last updated : 27 March 2016 By Jim Bonner

Pompey take on AFC Wimbledon live on Sky tomorrow knowing that only a win will keep hopes of automatic promotion alive.

Team News

Paul Cook may be tempted to stick with the same side that hammered Notts County 4-0 on Good Friday but Marc McNulty will be pushing for a start after his goal.

Former Pompey captain Paul Robinson may not play against his former side as he has a thigh strain but Andy Barcham is set to start against the club he left in the summer.

The Match

It's difficult to get too carried away after Good Friday's excellent win simply because this Portsmouth team are so inconsistent that you never know when a bad performance will follow a good one. Not only that, but Notts County were truly terrible and the Dons will prove to be tougher opposition.

Having said that, Neal Ardley's men have won just one game in their last seven and that run has seen them fall off the pace in the race for promotion. If Paul Robinson does end up missing the match, that can only be a bonus, too.

As for team selection, Cook is almost certainly going to go with the same eleven that started on Friday. Whilst some may claim that McNulty should start ahead of Smith, the latter may do a better job of holding the ball up away from home and roughing up the Dons defenders. He will certainly work hard to put them under pressure, that's for sure.

Only a win will do tomorrow ahead of all of our promotion rivals' matches. Oxford are away at Cambridge, Bristol Rovers travel to Carlisle, Accrington go to Newport whilst Plymouth host York. There is potential for the three promotion contenders with the away fixtures to drop vital points there, so a draw for Pompey wouldn't be of much use, either.

Let's just hope that tomorrow's match isn't as dire as the last time these two sides played each other on TV!

Predicted Starting Line-Ups

Pompey

GK: Paul JONES

RB: Ben DAVIES

CB: Christian BURGESS

CB: Matt CLARKE

LB: Enda STEVENS

DM: Michael DOYLE

DM: Danny HOLLANDS

RM: Adam McGURK

AM: Gary ROBERTS

LM: Kyle BENNETT

CF: Michael SMITH

Wimbledon

GK: Kelle ROOS

RB: Barry FULLER

CB: Paul ROBINSON

CB: Darius CHARLES

LB: Jon MEADES

RM: George FRANCOMB

CM: Dannie BULMAN

CM: Jake REEVES

LM: Andy BARCHAM

CF: Adebayo AKINFENWA

CF: Rhys MURPHY

Last Time: AFC Wimbledon 1 Portsmouth 0 (League Two - 21/03/2015)

An early Ben Chorley own goal was enough to seal an easy win for the Dons in the end following another drab away performance from Andy Awford's team.

My Prediction

I just have a horrible feeling about this one with Kingsmeadow holding some horrible memories and the match being live on Sky.

AFC Wimbledon 1 Portsmouth 0