Portsmouthvs.Plymouth

Meanwhile, basement side Plymouth will be desperate to clinch all three points after failing to win any of their last five league matches.

Match preview

Portsmouth look well set to preserve their Championship status after winning four of their last five matches to move 10 points clear of the bottom three with 10 games left to play.

Pompey recorded victories against Cardiff City, Oxford United and Queens Park Rangers, before their winning run was ended by a narrow 1-0 defeat against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

The South Coast side produced an impressive performance to return to winning ways in Sunday's home clash against Leeds, with Colby Bishop's second-half effort proving enough to seal a 1-0 victory and condemn the leaders to their first Championship defeat since November.

That result represented Portsmouth's third consecutive victory at Fratton Park, contributing to an impressive record which has seen them win nine, draw two and lose of their last 12 home matches.

Pompey have been defensively resilient in that period, conceding no more than one goal in any of those 12 matches since suffering their most recent home defeat against Sheffield Wednesday in October.

While Pompey have not beaten Plymouth since September 2018, they have managed to avoid defeat in each of their last seven home matches (D5, L2) since losing 2-1 in a League Two fixture in April 2016.

In contrast to their hosts, Plymouth have significant work to do if they are to avoid the drop this season, with the Pilgrims languishing at the bottom of the table after winning six, drawing 12 and losing 18 of their 36 league matches.

Plymouth have taken just two points from five league matches since they claimed back-to-back Championship wins over West Bromwich Albion and Millwall.

They followed an away defeat against Blackburn with consecutive 1-1 draws against Luton Town and Cardiff City, before they fell to a 2-0 loss in their away meeting with Hull City just days after they lost 3-1 to Manchester City in the FA Cup fifth round.

Unfortunately for the Pilgrims, they were unable to produce a positive response in Saturday's home clash against Sheffield Wednesday, slumping to a 3-0 defeat to leave them six points adrift of safety ahead of the midweek round of fixtures.

If they are to have a realistic chance of staying up, Plymouth need to spark a significant upturn in fortunes on the road, with Wednesday's visitors still searching for their first away league win of the season after drawing five and losing 13 of their 18 league road trips this term.

The Pilgrims have won three of their last four meetings against Portsmouth, including a 1-0 victory in November's reverse fixture thanks to Michael Obafemi's 82nd-minute effort.

Portsmouth Championship form:

L

W

W

W

L

W

Plymouth Argyle Championship form:

W

L

D

D

L

L

Plymouth Argyle form (all competitions):

L

D

D

L

L

L

Team News

Pompey are unable to call upon Hayden Matthews, Ibane Bowat, Jacob Farrell, Callum Lang and Paddy Lane for the rest of the season.

Jordan Williams and Conor Shaughnessy are continuing to work on their recovery from hamstring issues, while Rob Atkinson is in the treatment room with a calf problem.

The host will hope Adil Aouchiche will be ready to feature after he appeared to limp off with a knock in the second half of Sunday's win over Leeds.

As for the visitors, they are without the injured duo of Brendan Galloway and Muhamed Tijani, while Adam Randell will serve the second game of a three-match suspension after he admitted a charge of misconduct from last month's draw with Cardiff.

Ryan Hardie is pushing for a starting berth after returning from a four-game injury absence to feature as a half-time substitute at the weekend.

Plymouth boss Miron Muslic could also hand starting spots to Victor Palsson and Tymoteusz Puchacz in a bid to find a winning formula.

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Schmid; Swanson, Poole, Pack, Ogilvie; Dozzell, Potts; Ritchie, Aouchiche, Murphy; Bishop

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Hazard; Talovierov, Katic, Palsson; Sorinola, Boateng, Gyabi, Puchacz; Bundu, Mumba; Hardie

We say: Portsmouth 2-0 Plymouth Argyle

Written by

Ben Sully

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