Portsmouth boss Kenny Jackett plays down Trophy favourites tag - won't underestimate Scunthorpe

And in a message to his Blues side ahead of tonight’s quarter-final tie against Scunthorpe, the manager insisted the League Two outfit should not be underestimated.

Pompey play host to the Iron at Fratton Park (7.45pm) as they aim to take another step closer to overall victory in the competition.

A win would see them move to within one victory of a return visit to Wembley – the scene of last season’s unforgettable penalty shoot-out success against rivals Sunderland.

Going into tonight's game, Jackett’s side – who are the highest-ranked team left – are the bookies’ favourites to make it two glorious EFL Trophy campaigns in successive seasons.

The Blues are priced at 2/1 with SkyBet, 5/2 with Bet365, and 9/4 with both BetVictor and Betway.

However, affording Paul Hurst’s Scunthorpe the utmost respect they deserve, the manager insisted anything can happen in cup games.

Jackett said: ‘All games are one-off anyway - all cup games are.

'And you can't always go with the side that is favoured necessarily.

'And that's why we need to be professional in our attitude. It has to be right, and we always respect every opposition.

'We will with Scunthorpe, we certainly won't underestimate them and the side that goes out there will need energy, will need quality, will need attitude to be resilient and enough to get the win and see in this particular cup week that we can progress.

‘We've looked at them and looked hard as well.

‘Obviously, it'll be a big game for them and they’ll want to do well for their own reasons.

‘Paul Hurst, we all know, and recently, up to last year, they were a team in our division.

‘So they'll be wanting to make their own impression and, 100-per-cent, should never be underestimated.'

Despite a desire to making it five wins in a row in all competitions, Jackett is expected to make several changes to his starting line-up for tonight’s fixture.

With five games in the space of 15 days, he’s keen to keep key players fresh and give opportunities to some fringe players who need match minutes.

It’s another week before the Blues return to league action - they travel to Lincoln next Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Saturday sees Pompey play host to Barnsley in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

There’s plenty of distractions, therefore, for a Blues side that currently sits outside the League One play-off positions on goal difference.

However, Jackett believes such cup runs can prove beneficial.

He added: ‘It's a week for the cups and if we can win as many games as possible and do as well as possible as a club, I always believe that can be a positive for you're league campaign.’

Tonight's other EFL Trophy games: Exeter v Stevenage, Newport v Leicester under-21s, Salford v Accrington.