Pompey take on Plymouth Argyle for the final game of the season knowing that victory would guarantee a top ten finish in League Two.
Team News
Romain Padovani trained with the squad this week and could return but otherwise there are no other changes to Andy Awford's thinking regarding team selection.
The Match
A month is a long time in football. At the end of March Pompey were staring relegation to non-league in the face whilst their opponents tomorrow looked like finishing in the play-off positions.
A complete reversal in fortunes in April now means that the Blues will leapfrog Argyle into the top ten if they win tomorrow. A finish as high as ninth is attainable should Bury fail to win at Morecambe which would be ridiculous given how bad Pompey were under Richie Barker. The lowest Pompey could finish is 14th.
It was interesting to listen to the-now-permanent Portsmouth manager's thoughts ahead of this game. He said the players will come out to do a "lap of thanks" rather than honour as the fans have had to suffer this season and ultimately the team have fallen short of expectations.
Statistically, this campaign has been the worst in Pompey's history but it seems like Awford is going to move on quickly as soon as the final whistle blows and get some contracts sorted. Trevor Carson will be one of the first names to sign a permanent contract as he is likely to collect the majority of the various "player of the season" awards handed out before the match.
As for the game itself, we should be able to relax and enjoy another display of attacking football. Plymouth have choked due to a lack of leadership and organisation. A fan tells me that their can't deal with long balls and is expecting a 4-0 drubbing tomorrow.
They do have a couple of players that are worth keeping an eye on. Reuben Reid is a big, powerful centre forward who scores plenty of goals and Conor Hourihane is capable of causing problems in the centre of midfield too.
But the form of the two clubs suggests that only Pompey fans are going to really enjoy the final day so long as the clichéd "manager of the month" curse doesn't strike and the defending improves on last Saturday's showing at Gigg Lane.
A top ten finish would be a good way to end what has been a largely miserable season, so hopefully a sold out Fratton Park will be celebrating come the final whistle of the final game.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Pompey
GK: Trevor CARSON
RB: Adam WEBSTER
CB: Ben CHORLEY
CB: Jack WHATMOUGH
LB: Nicky SHOREY
DM: Johnny ERTL
DM: Danny HOLLANDS
RM: Jed WALLACE
CM: Wes FOGDEN
LM: Ricky HOLMES
CF: Ryan TAYLOR
Plymouth
GK: Jake COLE
CB: Maxime BLANCHARD
CB: Neal TROTMAN
CB: Curtis NELSON
RM: Jason BANTON
CM: Conor HOURIHANE
CM: Durrell BERRY
CM: Dominic BLIZZARD
LM: Andres GURRERI
CF: Reuben REID
CF: Lewis ALLESANDRA
Last Time: Portsmouth 2 Plymouth Argyle 1 (FA Cup Fourth Round - 26/01/2008)
Chris Clark gave the visitors an early lead with a deflected strike - Pompey's only conceded goal throughout their whole cup run. Lassana Diarra levelled the score with a curling strike of his own before Niko Kranjcar tapped Pompey into the lead before the break.
My Prediction
Pompey to end the season on a high following another entertaining match to give everyone hope for next season.
Portsmouth 3 Plymouth Argyle 1