Pompey go to Glanford Park tomorrow looking to record back-to-back wins in the league for the first time this season.
Team News
Toumani Diagarouga is likely to make his first start for Pompey and could be joined by Villa loanee Michael Drennan if Ryan Taylor's groin injury keeps him out of the game. Former Scunthorpe player Andy Barcham could miss the game with his wife due to give birth tomorrow.
Centre back David Mirfin is a doubt for the hosts as is David Syers who scored twice at Fratton Park in the reverse fixture. Former Pompey striker Deon Burton is out with a calf injury.
The Match
Pompey face a difficult task to win two games of football in a row as their opponents haven't lost in the league since Russ Wilcox took charge of the Iron, with his first win coming at Fratton Park earlier in the season.
That run of results has taken Scunthorpe up to second position in League Two and their squad looks strong on paper with Sam Winnall and Paddy Madden arguably the strongest front two in the entire division.
Richie Barker's men may have beaten AFC Wimbledon but some Portsmouth fans may be getting carried away with the result as the performance was no better than previous games which have seen fans criticise the team for failing to create chances whilst losing concentration at vital times.
We should know what to expect by now as Pompey will keep things tight at the back but won't show too much adventure going forward. Having said that, it will be interesting to see just how much influence Diagarouga has on the team and what impact Drennan might have if he starts or comes off the bench.
It's a long way to go for our supporters and given Scunthorpe's form they're likely to either see a bore draw or an entertaining match with goals galore. We can take heart from the fact that Accrington put two past them this week (only to lose 3-2) and Scunny also recently surrendered a three goal lead at Dagenham & Redbridge.
Hopefully those who do travel are rewarded with a good game of football and a result to go with it, but it will not be easy.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Scunthorpe
GK: Sam SLOCOMBE
RB: Eddie NOLAN
CB: Niall CANAVAN
CB: David MIRFIN
LB: Marcus WILLIAMS
RM: Hadeeb ADELAKUN
CM: David SYERS
CM: Sean McALLISTER
LM: Gary McSHEFFREY
CF: Sam WINNALL
CF: Paddy MADDEN
Pompey
GK: Trevor CARSON
RB: Daniel ALFEI
CB: Sonny BRADLEY
CB: Ben CHORLEY
LB: Marcos PAINTER
RM: Jed WALLACE
CM: Toumani DIAGAROUGA
CM: Nicky SHOREY
LM: Ricky HOLMES
CF: Jake JERVIS
CF: Ryan TAYLOR
Last Time: Scunthorpe United 2 Portsmouth 1 (League One - 05/02/2013)
Akpo Sodje gave the hosts the lead with a close range header but Liam Walker levelled the score with a sweet free kick on the stroke of half-time. The game looked to be heading for a draw until Sodje again headed the ball past Simon Eastwood for a late winner on a cold Tuesday night in Scunthorpe.
My Prediction
Pompey will try and contain Scunthorpe but they may probably have too much up front for Richie Barker's men to see the job through. Lack of chances created against a generous defence is likely to be costly in the end.
Scunthorpe United 1 Portsmouth 0