‘That’s way I’ve decided to approach it’: Portsmouth boss weighs up massive striker call for Derby County showdown

John Mousinho admitted he’s picking from two strikers at the top of their games in tonight’s top-of-the-table showdown against Derby County.

And the Pompey boss revealed Kusini Yengi has now closed the gap when it comes to who starts between the Aussie hitman and top scorer Colby Bishop.

Mousinho again faces a tough call over who gets the nod to start the top-of-the-table clash at Fratton Park against Paul Warne’s men, or possibly unleashing both men on the Rams.

Yengi has been in flying form but Bishop’s two-goal salvo against Wycombe sees him cement his place as Pompey’s top scorer, and the second top marksman in the division with 18 league finishes to his name.

It all adds up to a selection dilemma Mousinho explained he’s taking as the matches come at present.

Mousinho said: ‘We’ll do it game by game, that’s the way I’ve decided to approach it over the past six weeks.

‘The way that Kas has conducted himself and the way that he has performed, he’s really shifted himself up there in terms of being a selection headache for us.

‘We’ve been lucky since we brought him in against Cambridge, he scored against them and came out of the side.

‘Then he came back in against Burton, scored two and came out of the side again. 

‘He then came on at Peterborough and scored the winner - it’s a really brilliant thing to have.

‘Also credit to Colby. We brought Colby out of the side and back in again.

‘He’s still been in decent form and managed to get the two goals against Wycombe.

‘It’s very, very tough. We have two centre-forwards who right now are at the top of their game.’

Mousinho knows the selection calls he made over Pompey’s strikers has, and will continue to draw attention, as they are often left out after making powerful impressions in games.

He added: ‘It’s always highlighted with centre-forwards, because I’m leaving Kas out after scoring two goals after the Burton game.

'That’s obviously going to raise eyebrows. There’s been times I’ve left Colby out and he’s out top scorer for the past two seasons and he’s second in the league in terms of goals. So that obviously gets attention.

‘We’ve had that throughout the season all over the pitch and it’s a really positive thing to do with.’