Fratton Park will be home to a full house of happy Pompey fans watching their promotion winners take on Cambridge United, who also hope to be a League One club next season.
Team News
Paul Cook has virtually confirmed that Nicke Kabamba and Stanley Aborah will start tomorrow's match and Jamal Lowe may also begin the match after scoring the promotion winning goals at Meadow Lane. Matt Clarke and Danny Rose have recovered from the knocks that kept them out of the Notts County game and should return.
Barry Corr is once again missing for the U's whilst ex-Pompey duo James Dunne and Adam McGurk may only be on the bench for Shaun Derry's side.
The Match
Tomorrow should be an absolutely brilliant occasion for all of the Pompey fans after Monday's promotion as we can all sit back, relax and enjoy the final three games of the season where the players can play without the pressure which has shackled them at times this season.
Whilst Cook has mentioned rewarding the players with a holiday to Marbella, hopefully they'll remain focused for remaining trio of matches as technically the League Two title (or even the prize of finishing above Plymouth) is still on the cards. Therefore, everyone has to remain professional ahead of what should be a difficult contest.
The U's have a decent away record this season, winning ten matches. This is down to some stout defending and being able to nick a goal from a set-piece. However, without Barry Corr, they are blunt up front and will probably struggle to score against the best defence in the division.
As for the team Cook picks tomorrow, it'll be good to see what Aborah can do and if Kabamba looks like he can cut it in the Football League. Hopefully Lowe starts to get the reception he deserves for his heroics on Monday whilst it'll be good to see Conor Chaplin start a game for a change.
He has faded as the second half of the season has progressed and hasn't scored since his screamer at Barnet. He is due a goal but he can only score if he's on the pitch, and maybe he'll play behind Kabamba as he has shown promise playing in the role just behind the striker in the past.
Cambridge are the team under pressure, Pompey should be celebrating and so tomorrow could be another extremely enjoyable day for the supporters who have suffered for so long.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: David FORDE
RB: Gareth EVANS
CB: Christian BURGESS
CB: Matt CLARKE
LB: Enda STEVENS
DM: Michael DOYLE
DM: Danny ROSE
RM: Jamal LOWE
AM: Kal NAISMITH
LM: Kyle BENNETT
CF: Nicke KABAMBA
Cambridge
GK: Will NORRIS
RB: Brad HALLIDAY
CB: Leon LEGGE
CB: Greg TAYLOR
LB: Jake CARROLL
DM: James DUNNE
RM: Piero MINGOIA
CM: Luke BERRY
CM: George MARIS
LM: Harrison DUNK
CF: Uche IKPEAZU
Last Time: Portsmouth 2 Cambridge United 1 (League Two - 27/02/2016)
Marc McNulty rifled the ball home to give Pompey the lead at the end of a scrappy first half and Adam Webster made sure of the points when he hooked the ball in after Bennett had smashed the crossbar with a shot. Luke Berry scored in the 90th minute but it was too little, too late for the U's.
My Prediction
Let's be honest, Cook may have said all the right things pre-match but this could be a case of "After the Lord Mayor's Show" a la 2003 when Pompey were thrashed by Ipswich after winning promotion. However, the atmopshere will be electric, the players will be able to express themselves and that might not be something Cambridge can deal with.
Portsmouth 3 Cambridge United 0