Tuesday night watching brief for Portsmouth as title rivals Derby and Bolton bid to cut seven-point advantage at top of League One

Pompey will get further clarity on their League One title hopes tonight as both Derby and Bolton return to action.

Both teams, who sit second and third respectively in the table on 66 points, have played fewer games than the Blues to date. So they’ll have the chance to reduce the seven-point deficit that currently exists as League One resumes with a host of midweek fixtures pencilled in.

Pompey, of course, have a free week and will be meticulously planning ahead for Oxford United’s trip to Fratton Park on Saturday. Neither Derby or Bolton have that luxury, though, with both having tough assignments to overcome tonight before they can think that far ahead.

Indeed, second-placed Derby welcome Charlton to Pride Park this evening. Eighteen places and 32 points separate the teams in the table, but as Pompey found out on Saturday at the Valley, there’s no gimmes at this stage of the season. The Addicks have discovered a new-found resilience under new boss Nathan Jones and their confidence will be growing after successive draws against league-leaders Blues and title-hopefuls Bolton in their past two outings.

Derby also go into the game on the back of a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Barnsley, which allowed John Mousinho’s side to stretch their lead at the top of the standings. They also have injury concerns to contend with, with top-scorerJames Collins, Conor Washington, Tyreece John-Jules, Jake Rooney, Craig Forsyth and Josh Vickers all set to miss the Charlton game. Martin Waghorn and Corey Blackett-Taylor could return from injury, though, while Dwight Gale is in contention to start up front for the Rams following his recent arrival on a free transfer.

Like Derby, Bolton also return to action off the back of a defeat. They lost 4-1 on the road at Blackpool on Saturday, which means Pompey’s destiny is well and truly in their own hands, despite the Trotters having two games in hand. And it’s another local, difficult away trip that faces them this evening, with Shaun Maloney’s Wigan lying in wait.

It’s fair to say, Ian Evatt’s side haven’t had the best of Februarys - with just two wins secured from their six games played. That’s had a major impact on their title aspirations. There’s no doubt Blues fans will be hoping that the month continues to throw up problems at the DW Stadium. And they’ll be delighted to hear that Bolton top-scorer Dion Charles remains sidelined with a knee injury after he suffered a set-back in training. Wanderers, though, were successful with their appeal to get Ricardo Santos’ red card against Blackpool on Saturday overturned - allowing him to feature against the Latics.

Elsewhere in the division, Stevenage have an opportunity to leapfrog Oxford United into sixth place when they play host to Cambridge United. Blackpool - who retain play-off ambitions - travel to Leyton Orient, who will also have aspirations of making the top six. Similarly, 10th-placed Lincoln are at home to Shrewsbury. The other games are: Burton v Carlisle United, Port Vale v Fleetwood and Wycombe v Cheltenham.