Etter en pause i kamper på to uker, skal ubeseirede Pompey møte opprykksfavoritt Derby County på bortebane lørdag ettermiddag.
To av det største klubbene i League One møtes på Pride Park, og det betyr at det kan bli rundt 30.000 tilskuere på kampen.
Pompey er eneste lag som er ubeseiret i League One, men på grunn av litt mange uavgjorte kamper er Pompey likevel et par poeng bak serieleder Stevenage (som riktignok har spilt én kamp mer).
Hjemmelaget Derby er, sammen med Bolton, favoritter til direkte opprykk, men tre seire og tre tap på de seks første er ikke en sesongstart the Rams er fornøyde med. Forrige sesong så Derby ut til å ende på play-off, men etter kun ett poeng på de to siste kampene (og det kom i 1-1-kampen hjemme mot Pompey) snek Peterborough seg forbi i siste serierunde.
Det siste nye fra the Rams
Max Bird, Jake Rooney, Louie Sibley, Liam Thompson, Joe Ward og Kane Wilson er alle ute med skade, men Derby kan glede seg over at de likevel får bruke keeper Joe Wildsmith etter at hans røde kort mot Bolton i forrige serierunde ble omgjort.
Derby-manager Paul Warne
Warne startet managerkarrieren hos Rotherham i 2016, og var mannen bag tre opprykk til The Championship. Han rykket samtidig også ned med klubben tre ganger. Ikke desto mindre så ble Warne i september i fjor headhuntet av Derby til at ta over etter Liam Rosenior.
Hvordan ser det ut hos oss?
Josh Dockerill (kne), Tom Lowery (kne), Anthony Scully (kne) and Kusini Yengi (ankel) er alle ute med skade. I tillegg er Gavin Whyte tvilsom grunnet en ankelskade.
Pompey har også to spillere ute med suspensjon. Både høyreback Joe Rafferty og midtbanespiller Joe Morrell må stå over med karantene.
Tino Anjorin kan få sin debut etter å ha kommet på lån fra Chelsea.
Øvrige kamper i League One denne serierunden
Barnsley v Burton
Exeter v Cheltenham
Fleetwood v Oxford
Lincoln v Carlisle
Peterborough v Leyton Orient
Port Vale v Northampton
Reading v Bolton
Shrewsbury v Bristol Rovers
Stevenage v Charlton
Wigan v Cambridge
Wycombe v Blackpool
John Mousinhos tanker om kampen
«It was nice to have some time off after nine games in under 30 days – it’s the busiest start to a season I can remember. We were able to give the lads a bit of a break, but also get in a couple of really good training blocks, which we haven’t been able to do since the build-up to facing Bristol Rovers.
There are some things that we’ve been able to work hard on and overall, it’s been a positive period for us. Every game provides a different test and it will be no different on Saturday against Derby, who are one of the favourites for promotion.
They’ve invested in their squad and we know what they’re all about, while it will be a good atmosphere at Pride Park. It’s something we’ll relish. We need to make sure we can mix it with the top sides in the division, which we want to be this season. It perhaps let us down a bit during the last campaign, although playing as well as we did at Derby towards the end did lay down a marker.”
Paddy Lanes tanker om kampen
«I’ve just been working my way in after getting injured in pre-season and played a few cup games. I felt back to myself in the tie with Peterborough that we lost on penalties and have been doing well in training.
The gaffer and medical team were superb with me, so hopefully I can keep going and build on my form from the end of last season. I got back earlier than expected and just wanted to be on the pitch with the lads because you don’t want to be watching the start of the season from the stands. I’m fully fit and raring to go, so it’s just about continuing to work hard in training and waiting for my chance.
It’s going to be an unreal day in terms of atmosphere and we want to put on a real show for our fans. We produced a good performance there near the end of last season and it’s one of those matches that already feels like a ‘six-pointer. You have to relish that pressure. The lads here are brilliant and we’ve got a great group, but we need to just take it one game at a time.”
