Pompey will be looking to cause an upset on live TV when they take on Championship side Derby County at Fratton Park tomorrow night.
Team News
Paul Cook has admitted he'll make changes to the side that beat Dagenham on Saturday with Paul Jones certain to start in goal. The players on the bench that day such as Adam Webster, Adam McGurk, Danny Hollands and Conor Chaplin could be handed starts.
Rams boss Paul Clement is also expected to make changes from the side that started the goalless draw at Bolton on Saturday although Will Hughes and Craig Bryson were injured in that match and won't feature. George Thorne could play against his former club.
The Match
When this draw was made it had quite a few Pompey fans excited about the prospect of our new team facing one of the Championship's best sides as this will be the first time in years that Portsmouth will be clear underdogs on their own turf.
However, it was slightly disappointing today to read the manager's comments about playing a weakened side given that his first team played so well on Saturday. It's understandable that he doesn't want injuries to key players whilst playing in a "low priority" competition but victory over Derby would be a massive psychological boost ahead of a difficult trip to Plymouth on Saturday.
Paul Clement is expected to do well at County given his experience as a coach at Real Madrid, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain and he has hinted that he will play a diluted side and change his team's formation to match Pompey's 4-2-3-1 system.
Even if he does change his team the likes of Darren Bent and Andreas Weimann were only on the bench at Bolton and look like starting the match. And should Pompey take the lead then the likes of Chris Martin and Tom Ince can be called upon to bail the visitors out of trouble.
Still, sometimes being the underdog is the way we Pompey fans like it and those who are picked tomorrow will have a point to prove. There'll be no pressure on Paul Cook's men to win this match and there should be an excellent atmosphere at Fratton Park in front of the Sky cameras.
Who knows? There have been shock results in the League Cup already this week and maybe there'll be another tomorrow.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: Paul JONES
RB: Ben DAVIES
CB: Christian BURGESS
CB: Adam WEBSTER
LB: Enda STEVENS
DM: Michael DOYLE
DM: Danny HOLLANDS
RM: Adam McGURK
AM: Conor CHAPLIN
LM: Gareth EVANS
CF: Jayden STOCKLEY
Derby
GK: Scott CARSON
RB: Cyrus CHRISTIE
CB: Jake BUXTON
CB: Richard KEOGH
LB: Craig FORSYTH
DM: George THORNE
DM: Jamie HANSON
RM: Johnny RUSSELL
AM: Jeff HENDRICK
LM: Andreas WEIMANN
CF: Darren BENT
Last Time: Portsmouth 1 Derby County 2 (Championship - 21/04/2012)
Jake Buxton was left unmarked to head in Derby's opener but Luke Varney equalised for Michael Appleton's men to give the Pompey fans some hope. However, Jason Pearce brought down Jamie Ward in the box just minutes after and Steve Davies scored the resulting penalty to confirm Pompey's relegation to League One after a dismal season.
My Prediction
It should be an enjoyable game tomorrow and whilst the sensible prediction is on Derby's quality to shine through, they'll certainly have it tough on the south coast.
Portsmouth 1 Derby County 2