It's that time of the year when all fans look to the next nine months with a degree of optimism or pessimism but that opinion usually changes after the first 90 minutes of a long season, which kicks off on Teeside tomorrow.
Team News
David Norris and Luke Varney are in line for their Pompey debuts but Jason Pearce is suspended following his red card in Bournemouth's play-off semi-final with Huddersfield last season. Tal Ben-Haim is also expected to play his first game for the club in well over a year.
Kevin Thomson is the big name missing from Boro's squad going into the opening game and Andy Halliday is also absent with an injury. However, Tony Mowbray can call on Joe Bennett after he shrugged off a hamstring problem.
The Match
I'm heading up to Middlesbrough tomorrow with slightly more optimism than I had last season when a wafer thin squad with unfit players and youngsters having to play in unfamiliar positions saw Pompey slump to a 2-0 defeat at Coventry.
The squad is still wafer thin and we'll find out just how fit the players are tomorrow but at least the Portsmouth side likely to take to the pitch tomorrow will be more balanced and more of a "team" than the eleven men who started at the Ricoh Arena twelve months ago.
Based on the players that Steve Cotterill has available to him, I'm expecting a 4-5-1 formation with Kitson playing up front on his own with Varney and Lawrence on the wings. Therefore, I don't expect us to score many goals, if any, at the Riverside tomorrow.
That means the defence will have to ensure that the likes of Scott McDonald and Marvin Emnes are kept quiet. Rocha and Halford were outstanding when paired at centre back last season whilst Hermann and Ben-Haim should be solid performers at full back tomorrow.
It looks like Cotterill will struggle to fill the bench tomorrow but it'll be interesting to see if young Ryan Williams comes on and makes an impact. I do worry if we have to chase the game, though, as Kanu isn't an impact player.
Hopefully we can avoid a fourth straight opening day defeat tomorrow. A draw away to a side who are expected to do well this season would be an encouraging start as the squad continues to rebuild but a win would see those optimism levels rise much higher than they perhaps should be.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Middlesbrough
GK: Carl IKEME
RB: Tony McMAHON
CB: Matthew BATES
CB: Stephen McMANUS
LB: Joe BENNETT
RM: Barry ROBSON
CM: Nicky BAILEY
LM: Rhys WILLIAMS
AM: Merouane ZEMMAMA
CF: Scott McDONALD
CF: Marvin EMNES
Pompey
GK: Jamie ASHDOWN
RB: Tal BEN-HAIM
CB: Greg HALFORD
CB: Ricardo ROCHA
LB: Hermann HREIDARSSON
RM: Liam LAWRENCE
CM: Joel WARD
CM: Hayden MULLINS
CM: David NORRIS
LM: Luke VARNEY
CF: Dave KITSON
Last Time: Middlesbrough 2 Portsmouth 2 (Championship - 02/10/2010)
Pompey performed well during the first half of this game only to go into the break two goals down. Matthew Bates took advantage of a losse ball from a corner to slot in the opener and then Barry Robson converted a penalty after Joel Ward had clipped Scott McDonald in the box.
But the fightback was on when David Nugent headed in Liam Lawrence's cross and then the latter scored an 88th minute penalty after Robson had floored Aaron Mokoena in the box in an off-the-ball incident.
Fratton Faithful Boro Championship Profile: Link
My Prediction
I've got enough faith in the defence to believe they'll keep a clean sheet against a Boro side who have lost Leroy Lita but I don't expect Pompey to find the back of the net either. Opening day may be exciting but this might well be a bore draw.
Middlesbrough 0 Portsmouth 0