Pompey go into tomorrow's match with Crewe Alexandra on the back of a three game unbeaten run in League One but also an embarrassing defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.
Team News
Mustapha Dumbuya is away on international duty with Sierra Leone whilst Lubor Michalik is rated "50/50" because of aggrevating an ankle knock he picked up. Josh Thompson could return to the bench.
Steve Davis is likely to pick an unchanged side from the team that beat Hartlepool on Saturday but Byron Moore and Abdul Osman are fit again and vying for a start.
The Match
Before Tuesday night I, and I suspect many other Pompey fans were confident of a victory tomorrow against Crewe. However, after the Wycombe debacle that now seems to be in doubt.
The defence on Tuesday night was so slow and cumbersome that Alex may well fancy their chances if they have some pace in their side. Even if they don't, they are bound to create plenty of chances.
It'll be interesting to see how Michael Appleton plays this one in terms of his team selection. He has hinted that Akos Buzsaky will start but if that's the case then where?
Playing him alongside Howard in the middle would be asking for trouble given how lightweight the midfield would be without Johnny Ertl there to shore things up. Whilst playing the Hungarian on the flank would surely lessen his impact?
Unless Appy decides to play five midfielders and just the one up front? Izale McLeod has been in rich scoring form recently and has gone some way to silencing his critics, but it's doubtful he'd make a good lone frontman.
Personally, I have absolutely no idea what to expect tomorrow. Most of the side that lost to Wycombe should play and so that might have halted the recent momentum after a good run of a results.
This should be an intriguing encounter with plenty of goals.
Click here for an interview with Alex fan Jack Jones.
Click here for the League One Lowdown on Crewe.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: Mikkel ANDERSEN
RB: Adam WEBSTER
CB: Lubor MICHALIK
CB: Gabor GYEPES
LB: Jon HARLEY
RM: Lee WILLIAMSON
CM: Johnny ERTL
CM: Brian HOWARD
LM: Akos BUZSAKY
CF: Wes THOMAS
CF: Izale McLEOD
Crewe
GK: Alan MARTIN
RB: Kelvin MELLOR
CB: Mark ELLIS
CB: Harry DAVIS
LB: Mark TOOTLE
CM: Luke MURPHY
CM: Andy BOND
CM: Chuks ANEKE
RWF: Ajay LEITCH-SMITH
LWF: Max CLAYTON
CF: Mathias POGBA
Last Time: Portsmouth 2 Crewe Alexandra 4 (Division One - 08/12/2001)
This was a footnote in the bad old days of Graham Rix's reign at Pompey. Rob Hulse and Efe Sodje scored from headers inside half an hour but Steve Lovell got one back before the break.
However, Phil Charnock and Kenny Lunt scored in the second half to finish off the home side despite Peter Crouch's late consolation. Despite this result, Alex were still relegated at the end of the season.
My Prediction
No idea here, I'll go for a high scoring draw.
Portsmouth 2 Crewe Alexandra 2