With only one win in seven Championship matches the pressure is on Steve Cotterill as his side take on Blackpool tomorrow.
Team News
Luke Varney is denied the chance to play against the club he was loaned to last season after his red card at Hull but Liam Lawrence is back from suspension. Dave Kitson will not feature and will miss the next three games with a rib injury.
Neal Eardley and Elliot Grandin both have foot injuries and won't feature for the Tangerines tomorrow but former Southampton players Kevin Phillips, Brett Ormerod and Stephen Crainey may start along with James Hurst, who spent his youth career at Portsmouth.
The Match
Following the absolutely awful performance at Hull last week, I'm not too confident going into this match with a team which has had a solid start to the season and are unbeaten in four games.
Steve Cotterill would have been haunted by the Humberside horror show and having bumped into him at a service station after the game, it is clear that the poor performance has got to him and he is starting to feel the pressure.
It will be interesting to see his team will bounce back in front of a home crowd. There were only a few hundred to voice their disapproval at the KC Stadium last week but a repeat performance would see Fratton Park in uproar - there certainly won't be any hiding places on the pitch.
What will be even more interesting to see is what sort of tactics the manager will employ given that the usual option of Ashdown's "long ball to Varney for a hopeful flick-on" is not an option.
And how will Liam "liability" Lawrence play now that he has had an extra couple of weeks to get back to full fitness and show some of the form that had him giving defenders a headache when he first arrived at Pompey.
Whatever the result is, it should be said that this time last year Pompey were in a much worse position and had only two points from six games until thrashing Leicester 6-1, with tomorrow being the anniversary of that win so perhaps that's an omen.
So, even if Pompey are beaten by Ian Holloway's men then they would still have had a better start to this season than last - somethin worth thinking about surely?
However, another defeat would mean a third loss in a row Pompey - a sequence that hasn't been repeated since the start of last campaign. That would pile a huge amount of pressure on the going into Tuesday's match with Peterborough and the calls for Cotterill's head will grow louder still.
My main concern is the horrid hoofball that was served up last week will be repeated and if that is the case then not only will we be bored to death but we will also see our team lose to a team that know how football should be played.
So, please Steve, if we can't win tomorrow at least ensure the fans leave Fratton Park feeling that they have been entertained.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: Jamie ASHDOWN
RB: Aaron MOKOENA
CB: Jason PEARCE
CB: Greg HALFORD
LB: Tal BEN-HAIM
CM: Hayden MULLINS
CM: Joel WARD
CM: David NORRIS
RWF: Liam LAWRENCE
LWF: Erik HUSEKLEPP
CF: BENJANI
Blackpool
GK: Matt GILKS
RB: Alex BAPTISTE
CB: Craig CATHCART
CB: Ian EVATT
LB: Matthew HILL
CM: Barry FERGUSON
CM: Billy CLARKE
CM: Keith SOUTHERN
RWF: Brett ORMEROD
LWF: Gary TAYLOR-FLETCHER
CF: Kevin PHILLIPS
Click here for the Fratton Faithful Blackpool Championship Profile page.
Last Time: Portsmouth 2 Blackpool 1 (FA Cup Third Round - 03/01/2004)
Sebastien Schemmel (remember him?) headed in Matt Taylor's cross to give Premiership Pompey the lead but the second division side drew level through Scott Martin just before the break.
It seemed like an unwanted replay would be required for Harry Redknapp's "bare-bones" team but Yakubu was there to tap in a stoppage time winner and inflict a cruel defeat on Steve McMahon's men.
My Prediction
Blackpool are a strong side whose golden oldies up front are still finding the back of the net. After last week's shoddy showing I simply cannot predict a win but a vast improvement will be expected and this team should be capable of earning a draw.
Portsmouth 1 Blackpool 1