Etter å ha slått Cardiff på bortebane i 1. runde, venter nå en ny tur til Wales.

Skulle Pompey slå Newport i ligacupens 2. runde tirsdag kveld, vil dette være bare andre gang siden 2010 at Pompey når 3. runde i ligacupen.

Pompey bør da også være favoritter ettersom Newport spiller i League Two. De har heller ikke startet sesongen særlig bra – i motsetning til Pompey – og står med kun fire poeng etter fem serierunder.

Newport har derimot overrasket i cupkamper de siste sesongene og er klare for 2. runde i ligacupen etter å ha slått Championship-laget Luton Town på bortebane i 1. runde.

Skadefronten

Pompey må dessverre klare seg uten Louis Thompson i lang tid etter at hans doble beinbrudd i kampen mot Bristol Rovers. I tillegg er Pompey uten Jayden Reid.

Denver Hume, Joe Morrell og kaptein Clark Robertson har vært ute med skade, men skal være klar for å spille i kveld. Neppe 90 minutter, men de er disponible.

Colby Bishop er vår toppscorer så langt. Han er tvilsom etter en smell i lørdagens kamp mot Bristol Rovers.

Når det gjelder Newport er Offrande Zanzala eneste spiller utilgjengelig med skade.

Manager Danny Cowley om tirsdagens cupkamp mot Newport

«We’re going to attack the game in the same way we did when we faced Cardiff in the last round. We also really want to put energy and focus onto the young players that we have at this football club.

For them to be able to develop in the manner in which we want them to, we know they need some game time. So this match is a fantastic opportunity for that, as is the one at Crawley in the Papa John’s Trophy next week. We saw the importance of the squad on Saturday, with players coming off the bench and making a huge difference.

They’re only able to do that if they’re match fit and ready, so a lot of our young ones will be involved at Newport. But we’re going there to try to win and have had a good luck at our opponents – between me, Nicky and the staff, we’ve watched all their games this season.

They’re an organised team and are well coached, with lots of fluidity in and out of possession and difficult to break down. Newport have a brilliant cup record in recent times and so it’s a tough test that we’re really looking forward to.”

Spiss Joe Pigott om tirsdagens cupkamp mot Newport

«The approach from us is absolutely no different to how it would be for a league game. Confidence is high at the moment and we’re on a really good run of form, so we want to make sure that continues.

When you enter any competition, you want to progress as far as you can and we’ve got a strong squad to manage all these games. We feel like we can attack on all different fronts and will be doing all we can to get through to the next round. Newport have caused a few cup upsets in recent years, though, and so we know it’s not going to be easy.

But we’ll do our best to go there and get another positive result. When you’re winning games, you always look forward to the next one.”