Pompey's men have the opportunity to further extend their lead at the top of League One when they make the short trip to struggling Charlton Athletic this weekend.
John Mousinho's Blues have 72 points on the board after 34 games and have a 6 point advantage over both Derby County and Bolton Wanders as things stand, though both sides either have 1 or 2 games in hand.
Portsmouth are on the league's current longest unbeaten run, having not been defeated in any of their previous 7 matches since that nightmare 3-0 loss at home to Leyton Orient on January 13th.
Charlton on the other hand are currently experiencing the division's longest winless streak, having gone 15 league matches without victory since a 2-1 home win against Cheltenham Town on November 28th. That torrid statistic means The Addicks currently sit in 20th position in League One after 33 games played - Just 1 point clear of the relegation zone, however both Cheltenham Town and Port Vale are sniffing closely behind with 2 games in hand each. Relegation to League Two looks increasingly likely for the South London side if they don't sort things out soon.
They are now, however under new management. Since the reverse fixture at Fratton Park in November, which ended 2-2, former Blues boss Michael Appleton has been dismissed and replaced with a man who has recently represented Pompey's rivals in the dugout. Former Southampton manager Nathan Jones is now at the helm.
Jones, 50, took charge on February 4th and has so far overseen 3 matches, of which none have ended in victory.
Top scorer Alfie May will be looking to add to his tally of 16 league goals when Pompey visit the capital this weekend. The former Doncaster Rovers and Cheltenham Town striker has not scored in any of his last 7 appearances for the club however.
For a closer inspection of The Addicks, take a look at Kirsty Roxanne's latest opposition report.
Pompey will be without 5 players who have been ruled out for the rest of the campaign. Regan Poole, Alex Robertson, Tom McIntyre, Terry Devlin and Joe Morrell have all been subject to season-ending injuries so will not be involved at The Valley this weekend.
Elsewhere, Zak Swanson has been back in training but is unlikely to feature just yet and Tino Anjorin is still a few weeks away from returning to the fold.
Myles Peart-Harris was absen
t from the Blues' 4-1 win over Reading at Fratton Park last Saturday but according to head coach John Mousinho, he is back fit and available for selection this weekend as his groin concern was only a minor one.
Forward Colby Bishop was on target last weekend to help the Blues to a 4-1 victory at home to Reading. His goal was the 4th of the game, which also saw Paddy Lane, Marlon Pack and Callum Lang get on the scoresheet.
The 27-year-old is now on 16 league goals for the season, 1 behind joint-leaders of the League One goalscoring charts Devante Cole (Barnsley) and Jamie Reid (Stevenage), who both have 17.
Express FM's George Wedlake has been speaking to the Portsmouth boss at the training ground this week ahead of Saturday's match to get his perspective on the upcoming test and the full report on who is and is not in contention to play.
You can listen to the full, exclusive interview below, in which George first asked the gaffer about last weekend's win over The Royals at PO4:
Pompey have not won in their last 2 visits to The Valley. Charlton were 3-0 victors last time out in October 2022 thanks to goals from Ryan Inniss, Corey Blackett-Taylor and Eoghan O'Connell and the meeting before that ended all square, both sides scoring 2 goals apiece on September 25th, 2021.
The Blues' last victory away at Charlton came on February 2nd, 2021 when Michael Jacobs, Tom Naylor and Andy Cannon were all on target in a 3-1 victory under the management then of Kenny Jackett. Former Portsmouth striker Jayden Stockley had scored the hosts' only goal of that game - He now plies his trade for Fleetwood Town.
Defender Conor Shaughnessy, who recently became a father for the first time, also sat down with George to look ahead to this weekend's game. That chat begins by talking about the arrival of daughter Etta and is also available to listen to:
Ahead of the match, Football Hour host Jake Smith has been catching up with Lewis Catt, presenter at Charlton Live and Charlton TV. Lewis provides the lowdown on The Addicks, including his thoughts on the current relegation battle, the sale of Corey Blackett-Taylor to Derby County in January and the recent arrival of Nathan Jones in the dugout
Follow Lewis on X: @LewisCatt9
Express FM will have you covered with all of the unmissable action when Pompey Live returns to the airwaves this Saturday (February 24th) afternoon from 2pm. Connor Moseley, Jake Smith and Kirsty Roxanne will be at The Valley, the home of The Addicks, to provide full coverage of the match, which kicks off at 3pm.
Jake will then be joined by 2 more Blues supporters on Monday (February 26th) evening from 6pm to review the events of the game.
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