Joey Barton's Fratton Park admission ahead of Portsmouth's visit of Fleetwood

Both sides head into another important promotion battle on the back of dropping points yesterday.

Kenny Jackett’s men were defeated 2-0 at Peterborough and slipped from third to sixth in table.

The Cod Army, meanwhile, were held to a goalless draw by Fylde coast rivals Blackpool, meaning they moved up to seventh.

The Blues will relish a return to home comforts, as they remain unbeaten at PO4 in the league this season.

A win for Pompey will see them move on level points with second-placed Rotherham

But with designs on the Championship himself, Barton is planning on making his side ‘hard to beat’.

The Fleetwood boss told his club’s website: ‘In the last 10 fixtures, we have got ten cup finals starting at the most difficult place to go in our league which is Portsmouth.

‘They are unbeaten at home and we are next to them in the league, so if we can go down there and do what we have been doing on our travels, being hard to beat, it should be a good game.

‘For us it is all about the next game. Three points are on offer, and as a group we are not getting too far ahead of ourselves. If you do that, then you probably get your comeuppance in this game.

‘We have got to recover superbly now. We were not at our best on Saturday but we will be back stronger when we are back in front of our fans.’