RECAP the action as Portsmouth climb out of the Championship bottom three against Norwich City
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The prize of a place outside of the bottom three is the reward for victory against Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side tonight.
We’ll be building up to kick-off with all the talking points before team news drops at 6.45pm. Then it’s more chat and video before we bring you live commentary from under the Fratton lights.
LIVE Portsmouth v Bristol City
Appeals for a foul on Murphy by Stacey, looked like it could’ve just been in the box. Ref not having it.
The players are on the pitch at Fratton
Pompey in traditional royal blue - Norwich in green and yellow.
Here's the Pompey line-up
Pompey: Schmid; Devlin, Poole, Pack, Ogilvie; Potts, Moxon; Ritchie, Lane, Murphy; Bishop.
Subs: Archer, Swanson, McIntyre, Towler, Kamara, Blair, Silvera, Saydee, Sorensen.
Two changes for Pompey
Lane and Moxon in for suspended Dozzell and Lang. Blair and Towler come on to bench,
The Norwich boss on how he intends to 'kill' the Fratton Park atmosphere tonight. Over to you Pompey fans...
Norwich boss Johannes Hoff Thorup has outlined how he will set his team up to tame Fratton Park's atmosphere tonight.
And the Dane has detailed his belief silencing Pompey's fans can turn playing at PO4 into an advantage for the Canaries.
John Mousinho’s side aim to climb out of the Championship drop zone under the Fratton lights this evening, with victory guaranteeing that reward.
Thorup has his own plans to ensure that isn’t the case, however, with Norwich looking to return to winning ways after thumping in 10 goals in two fixtures before defeat to QPR on Saturday.
The 35-year-old is bullish about how he will set out to tame the Fratton faithful and Pompey’s high-pressing approach, which has seen an upturn in results of late.
Thorup believes there will be moments his team have to manage if Mousinho’s men gain momentum, but dominating possession will dampen Pompey’s backing - and turning down the volume can then work in Norwich’s favour.
Speaking at Norwich’s pre-match press conference, Thorup said: ‘The best way to kill the momentum in a stadium is to go there and play a lot of passes, especially from goal kicks,
‘If you succeed a couple of times and kill their pressure you kill the momentum of them, you kill the intensity of them and most often you also kill the atmosphere in the stadium - which is something you need to consider when you go away from home.
‘But of course you have to accept it’s not always you can do that and we have more variations.
‘On the other hand you can use that (Fratton Park’s atmosphere) as an advantage for you.
‘It’s something they can feel as a home team if the crowd is suddenly not supporting them, or if it’s not that loud as they normally are.
‘It actually turns into something that is not in their favour.
‘So it is something we can use, it is something we can definitely talk about and prepare how we handle.
‘And also those moments the crowd is supporting and the crowd is loud. There will be moments we have to defend and stick together to solve the situations and deal with the situations. It is a big factor, definitely.’
All the match details
Portsmouth are chasing a third successive home win in front of the Fratton Park faithful
The EFL have announced that Andrew Kitchen will be the referee for Portsmouth’s upcoming home game against Norwich City at Fratton Park. Kitchen has been officiating in the EFL since the start of the 2021/22 season, and has so far taken charge of over 50 EFL fixtures.
So far this season, he has overseen 11 Championship matches and has handed out 40 yellow cards and one red - giving him an average of 3.64 yellows a game, according to WhoScored.com. Kitchen has taken charge of two Portsmouth’s games in his career, with the Blues coming out on top on both occasions.
Lee Venamore and Nigel Lugg will be the assistant referees at Fratton Park while Gavin Ward will be the game’s fourth official. Portsmouth’s best performance and most convincing victory of the campaign allowed them to climb off the bottom table last time out with Colby Bishop, Josh Murphy and Callum Lang all scoring the goals in a comfortable 3-0 triumph over Bristol City.
The win was Portsmouth’s third of the season and a second in a row in front of the Fratton Park faithful. The Blues are slowly but surely showing signs of a mini-revival under John Mousinho and have lost just once in their last five matches. Another victory for Portsmouth this week could see them climb out of the relegation places, if results elsewhere go in their favour.
Portsmouth’s upcoming opponents
Norwich City are looking to bounce back from a defeat, which Scotland international Kenny McLean described as ‘up there with the worst’ they’ve had this season. The Canaries suffered a shock 3-0 loss in West London against relegation strugglers QPR and were no match for Marti Cifiuentes side, who showed greater grit and determination to perform on a wind and rain tested pitch at Loftus Road.
As it stands, Norwich City are 10th in the table under new boss Johannes Hoff Thorup, leaving them six points behind the play-off places and eight points clear of the drop zone. The Yellows have been hugely inconsistent throughout the season, but when in full flow have shown they are more than capable of troubling any defence in the league.
Ths statement is encapsulated by a 4-1 victory over Watford in September, a 4-0 triumph over Hull in October, and a 6-1 rout against Plymouth Argyle. Norwich City are spearheaded by the top scorer in the division Borja Sainz, who has found the net 15 times in 19 appearances this season. Meanwhile, Josh Sargent has also been hugely impressive with four goals and five assists, making him one of the leading creators in the division.
The Blues last faced Norwich City in the FA Cup in January 2019 and recorded a shock 1-0 victory, with Andre Green bagging the winner in the 95th minute of the contest at Carrow Road. Portsmouth have lost just one of their last five games against Norwich City but were beaten in their last league match back in May 2011.
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