If there's one thing you need when you're trying to get a few more points on the board, it's every player available for selection. Needless to say this is Pompey, things don't often go our way and we've got men out left, right and indeed centre (I blame the training ground myself, grumble grumble). It's probably easier to say who isn't injured, but just for those of you who don't know;
LuaLua - malaria, unable to repeat his bum showing antics of last season at the Riverside
Hughes - done in training and rated at 70/30
Diao - ruled out completely apparently
Karadas - out for a week or two
Viafara and Silva - both returned from South America yesterday, and even they were hardly massively involved in internationals jet lag is still going to come into play
Mornar - injured again in his desperate attempt to become Rory Allen
Cissé and Linvoy - long term but getting back into the swing of things with the reserves
Collins - apparently still a couple of games off fitness but we might need him anyway
Fun and games, then.
In midfield we should get away with it; Robert is set to return which could be a big boost whilst the likes of Vukic and O'Neil should shore up the centre, even if it is quite an attacking midfield. Maybe even Skopelitis might get a surprise recall to play the holding role. Anyone? No?
And defence isn't too much of a concern - two goals conceded in four games isn't a bad record at all. The obvious bother is up front where we haven't been scoring in the first place, and now we've only got a recovering Toddy and an unfit Collins left to call on. I think the phrase is "botherations". Who knows; it could be an unlikely partnership that works with the former supplying the clever passes and the latter running on to them and slotting them away, but it's a lot to ask for them to suddenly click and throw two players without much experience in at the deep end. Sadly for them however we don't really have a choice. Still, it will be nice to finally have a look at the Zambian Monster.
Still it's not all doom and gloom. Every team has a bogey side (Leicester and Everton spring to mind for ourselves) and in recent years, we've been Middlesbrough's. They've yet to beat us in the Premiership and our record against them since promotion reads quite well; played 4, won 2, drawn 2, lost 0, scored 8 and conceded 3. The most memorable of those matches was the 5-1 at the tail end of our first season in the Premiership, a game in which Yakubu scored four times in a man of the match display.
Ah yes, Yakubu. Can't really mention Boro without a reference to our former hitman. I've read a stat - and I don't know how true it is, so don't slaughter me if it's wrong - that he's only had six shots on target all season, but has scored four goals. I think that just about sums him up; sometimes he does sod all but still manages to get on the scoresheet some way or another (Bolton at Fratton last season being the perfect example). Presumably he'll be quite keen to impress against us since his last six months here weren't the happiest of his career, and there's been a lot of talk in the build-up from both sides about how we know how to keep him quiet, or how he's going to bang in a hat trick. On his day he's unplayable and he could tear us (or indeed any) team apart; let's just hope he has one of those matches he turned in towards the end of the last campaign and you don't know he's there.
Still one thing you can be sure of is that if he takes a penalty, it's going in! (I pray to god that I've just jinxed it).
We CAN win tomorrow; Boro are hardly a fantastic side but they do have the ability to turn it on. After all, they did beat Arsenal a few weeks ago. Hopefully they'll be complacent and will believe all the media tripe that's been printed that we're as good as relegated and playing badly; all it needs is someone to step up to the plate and grab a goal or two and it's there for the taking. That said, of course, I'll be delighted with a draw.