Portsmouth boss Danny Cowley's huge respect for Ipswich - but he anticipates another stumbling block for Paul Cook & Co

It comes with the Tractor Boys sitting below the Blues in the League One table heading into tonight’s much-anticipated showdown at Fratton Park.

Much was expected of the Portman Road outfit going into this season after a huge summer of investment in their playing staff.

However, after a less than impressive start to the campaign, the big-spending Suffolk side quickly found themselves the butt of most League One fans’ jokes as they failed to show their promotion credentials.

Their fortunes have started to change for the good in recent weeks, although their 2-2 draw at Cambridge United on Saturday proved Paul Cook’s side are still vulnerable after they threw away a two-goal lead.

Nevertheless, ahead of tonight’s game Cowley revealed how impressed he was with the Tractor Boys on a recent visit to Portman Road to take in their win against Shrewsbury.

He believes they’re better than their current surroundings.

But Cowley also insisted playing under the lights at Fratton Park means their season is by no means going to get any easier.

He said: ‘Paul Cook probably has the envy of the rest of the league in terms of finances and who he’s been able to sign.

‘They’ve signed a really powerful League One team and they have quality in every position so we need to find the solution to that.

‘What we’ve all seen is that even with signings they’ve made, the finances, and the quality and depth of their squad, they’ve still found League One difficult this season.

‘I watched them live at Shrewsbury and they were very good that day.

‘They were worthy winners in that match and certainly in recent matches they’ve picked up and I think they deserve more points than they’ve accumulated in terms of their dominance in certain games.

‘We understand the challenge of tonight, but we love to play at Fratton Park particularly under the lights.

‘We’re looking forward to the supporters getting behind us and helping us.’