Pompey and Derby County meet in a mouth watering clash between League One’s top two at Fratton Park on Tuesday night.
The final of the Easter fixtures concludes with an offering from Sky Sports, who will broadcast two sides vying for automatic promotion to the Championship. They saw Bolton Wanderers put five on Reading, but still, there's a three-point gap to make up on Derby, whilst Portsmouth are eight clear of the Trotters.
Earlier in the season, the two sides drew 1-1 at Pride Park. Colby Bishop netted a 95th-minute equaliser after James Collins had given the Rams the lead from 12 yards in the 86th. The two sides have continued to meet the early season expectations placed on them to get out of the division and now something will have to give between the two biggest clubs in the league.
The last three matches between the two have ended in draws. Portsmouth were the last to claim a victory in this fixture, winning 2-1 in a Carabao Cup meeting back in August 2015. Portsmouth last defeated Derby County when the two were in the Premier League in the 2007/08 season. Derby endured the worst campaign in Premier League history, finishing with a record points tally of just 11 points.
The match acts as a double game week for the hosts with Pompey hosting Shrewsbury Town after tonight. Derby won’t play until Wednesday, April 10 because of Wycombe Wanderers’ involvement in the EFL Trophy so Paul Warne might not have to worry as much as John Mousinho about the amount of minutes that a player is exposed to.
Portsmouth have two players that they have concerns about going into the clash but their identities have not been revealed. The injuries aren't expected to be serious but it could mean that they will have to do without further personnel this evening. Here's the latest injury and team news ahead of kick off.
1. Terry Devlin - out
Damaged shoulder ligaments in an aerial challenge early on with Greg Leigh at Oxford United on January 30. Had to be substituted in the second half and, following surgery, will be out for 12 weeks. Photo: Jason Brown
2. Alex Robertson - out
Suffered a season-ending injury in January. Still a loan player at Pompey but back at Man City whilst he rehabs. | Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
3. Regan Poole - out
Poole will sit out the rest of the season after suffering an ACL injury against Chesterfield in the FA Cup. | Jason Brown
4. Craig Forsyth - out
Missed a fair bit of the campaign, limiting him to just 26 league appearances. Played against Bolton Wanderers but injured his ankle in training, and is sidelined once again. | Getty Images