Pompey face early table-toppers Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium on Sky TV tomorrow.
Team News
Jack Whatmough is away on international duty and will miss the match whilst Nick Awford and Nigel Atangana will be assessed after suffering injuries at Yeovil. Joe Devera and Ben Chorley are available after missing the midweek victory at Huish Park.
Gary Rowett, who once followed Pompey when he was living on the Isle of Wight, has no new injuries to worry about with Damien McCrory and Jimmy Phillips long-term absentees.
The Match
Having taken 13 points from 15 available, Burton represent Pompey's toughest challenge in the league so far this season. However, Brewers fans also acknowledge that this is arguably their toughest league fixture thus far, too.
The midweek win at Yeovil was more important than some believe as it showed that Andy Awford's men were able to bounce back from the disappointing defeat to Newport with a convincing win and therefore also avoid losing three matches on the trot.
Whilst the use of the wing back system was criticised during the Newport match it should work better away from home against one of the better footballing sides in the division. If it doesn't, hopefully Awford will change the system sooner than he did last weekend when most people could see it clearly wasn't working.
The Brewers may have lost their top scorer from last season in Billy Kee but have found a suitable replacement in ex-Preston striker Stuart Beavon. Lucas Akins is the player to watch from a Pompey perspective as he has caused problems for the Blues defence in the past when playing for Stevenage.
On the other hand, Ricky Holmes has a habit of playing well against Burton having scored against them last season and also shone when playing for Barnet too.
Pompey will need to be up to the physical task after a tepid showing against Newport last week so it's a blow to see that Atangana is almost certainly going to miss this match. Perhaps Johnny Ertl could do a job in midfield as he isn't one who shirks a challenge and he was outstanding at Yeovil.
If the physical battle can be won then there should be enough up front to score a goal or two, especially given the form of Jed Wallace who seems to be playing much better now the contract issues of last season are gone.
Scoring against Burton will be tough, however, as they like to keep things tight at the back. This is going to be an edgy affair with the winner likely to score just one more than the loser if this season is anything to go by. A draw wouldn't be a bad result for either side.
But if Andy Awford's men can win this match it would send out a real statement of Pompey's promotion credentials and prove that last Saturday's defeat was a blip rather than a concern.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Burton
GK: Jon McLAUGHLIN
RB: George TAFT
CB: Ian SHARPS
CB: Shane CANSDELL-SHERIFF
LB: Phil EDWARDS
RM: Alex MacDONALD
CM: Robbie WEIR
CM: John MOUSINHO
LM: Lucas AKINS
CF: Stuart BEAVON
CF: Dominic KNOWLES
Pompey
GK: Paul JONES
RWB: Alex WYNTER
CB: Joe DEVERA
CB: Ben CHORLEY
CB: Paul ROBINSON
LWB: Nicky SHOREY
RM: Jed WALLACE
CM: James DUNNE
CM: Danny HOLLANDS
LM: Ricky HOLMES
CF: Ryan TAYLOR
Last Time: Burton Albion 1 Portsmouth 2 (League Two - 14/09/2013)
Ricky Holmes gave Pompey the lead by tapping in a loose ball which was saved from Patrick Agyemang's header by the unfortunate Burton goalkeeper and then Simon Ferry slid home another loose ball in the second half after Holmes' intital shot was again saved.
Yassin Moutaouakil was sent off for a stupid challenge late on and Zander Diamond scored in stoppage time for the hosts but Guy Whittingham won his first match as Portsmouth manager on the road last season.
My Prediction
With both sides looking to keep it tight and with the match being on TV this will probably end up being a bore draw with both teams cancelling each other out.
Burton Albion 0 Portsmouth 0