Portsmouth v Plymouth: early team news, predicted XIs, referee, form guide and key stats

The fourth-placed Blues are four points off second-placed Lincoln and will be looking to build on an impressive victory away to Charlton on Tuesday night.

In their way is a Plymouth side that sits 14th in the table – but a team with wins against Sunderland and Swindon in their past two away games in the third tier.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of today’s game.

Pompey team news

Rasmus Nicolaisen is set to miss the visit of Plymouth after his partner gave birth to a baby daughter.

The on-loan Dane missed Tuesday night’s win at Charlton and will again be absent as the club await to see when he will return to action.

That means James Bolton will likely start only his second league game of the season, following his impressive showing at the Addicks.

He’ll partner Sean Raggett in the centre of defence, with Jack Whatmough serving the second game of his three-match ban.

Manager Kenny Jackett must decide whether to keep faith with the side that won 3-1 in London in midweek or freshen things up again with games coming thick and fast.

Ben Close (hamstring) and Alex Bass (leg) remain on the sidelines.

Predicted starting XI

Craig MacGillivray, Callum Johnson, James Bolton, Sean Raggett, Charlie Daniels, Ryan Williams, Tom Naylor, Andy Cannon, Michael Jacobs, John Marquis, Marcus Harness. Subs: Lewis Morgan, Haji Mnoga, Lee Brown, Harvey White, George Byers, Ronan Curtis, Ellis Harrison.

Plymouth team news

Pilgrims boss Ryan Lowe has confirmed that injured duo Lewis Macleod (ankle) and club captain Gary Sawyer (ankle) have returned to doing ball work in training but the trip to Fratton Park has come far too soon for either player to be involved.

Wing-back George Cooper is also an absentee for the 14th-placed visitors.

He hasn’t featured since the start of December and will miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery.

Plymouth will have one-time Pompey target Niall Ennis in their ranks after he completed a permanent move from Wolves in the January transfer window.

Predicted line-up

Mike Cooper, Will Aimson, Jerome Opoku, Kelland Watts, Joe Edwards, Panutche Camara, Tyrese Fornah, Danny Mayor, Conor Grant, Ryan Hardie, Luke Jephcott. Subs: Luke McCormick, Sam Woods, Ollie Tomlinson, Ben Reeves, Byron Moore, Niall Ennis, Adam Lewis.

Match-day odds (bet365)

Pompey: 4/6

1-0 7/1, 2-0 15/2, 2-1 15/2, 3-0 12/1, 3-1 12/1, 3-2 22/1

Plymouth: 15/4

1-0 14/1, 2-0 22/1, 2-1 14/1, 3-0 50/1, 3-1 33/1, 3-2 33/1

Draw: 3/1

0-0 12/1, 1-1 13/2, 2-2 14/1, 3-3 40/1

First goalscorer: John Marquis 15/4, Chuks Aneke 11/2, Conor Washington 11/2

Referee

Will Finnie

Pompey stats

Top scorer: John Marquis (13)

Top assists: Ronan Curtis (8)

Most appearances: John Marquis (31)

Plymouth stats

Top scorer: Luke Jephcott (16)

Top assists: Conor Grant (7)

Most appearances: Michael Cooper and Kellard Watts (both 31)

Form guide

Pompey: P34 W17 D6 L10

Past five games

W 3-1 Charlton (A) – League One

L 1-0 Lincoln (H) – League One

L 4-0 Hull City (H) – League One

W 4-0 Wimbledon (H) – League One

W 1-0 Fleetwood (A) – League One

Plymouth: P34 W14 D7 L13

Past five games

D 2-2 Accrington (H) – League One

W 2-0 Swindon (A) – League One

L 2-1 Sheffield United (A) – FA Cup

W 2-1 Sunderland (A) – League One

D 1-1 Crewe (H) – League One

Other fixtures (3pm kick offs unless stated)

Accrington Stanley v Northampton Town, Burton Albion v Hull City, Doncaster Rovers v Oxford United, Fleetwood Town v Bristol Rovers, Ipswich Town v Blackpool, MK Dons v Sunderland, Peterborough United v Crewe Alexandra, Rochdale v Charlton Athletic, Swindon Town v Shrewsbury Town, Wigan Athletic v AFC Wimbledon.