This Week's Opposition: Plymouth Argyle

Kirsty Roxanne provides insight on Portsmouth's next Championship opponent.

Josh Murphy’s first goal in a Pompey shirt, straight after half-time, meant the Blues picked up a point on the road against Hull City at the MKM Stadium last time out.

A quick turnaround for the Blues sees them head into their 8th away fixture of the season - John Mousinho’s side head down the coast to Home Park.

Let’s take a closer look into our next challenge, Plymouth Argyle.

MANAGER

Well-known former English professional footballer Wayne Rooney is at the helm.

During his playing career, Rooney was widely considered as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest British footballers of all time.

He spent most of his career as a forward, playing for the likes of Everton, Manchester United, D.C. United and Derby County.

Rooney is the record goalscorer for Manchester United, slotting home 253  goals in all competitions and 183 Premier League goals. . He was also the record goalscorer for the England national team between 2015-2023 and has made more appearances for England than any other outfield player.

Harry Kane is now The Three Lions’ leading goalscorer.

After retiring, Rooney began his managerial career. He was in the dugout for Derby County, D.C. United and Birmingham City before being appointed Plymouth manager on a 3-year-contract in May 2024.

ONE TO WATCH

Winger Morgan Whittaker is our one to watch out for.

Whittaker is a product of Derby County’s academy and made his senior debut for the club in August 2019. He then went on to join fellow Championship side Swansea City on a 4-and-a-half-year deal.

He scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Plymouth Argyle in the 2nd Round of the Carabao Cup - That was the first hat-trick scored by a Swansea player since Scott Sinclair in the 2011 Championship Play-Off Final.

The now 23-year-old had loan spells with Lincoln City and Plymouth Argyle before signing a permanent deal with the Pilgrims.

Last season, Whittaker scored a hat-trick for Argyle in a 6-2 win over Norwich City and was awarded the EFL Championship Player of the Month award for January 2024, having scored in 4 out of the club’s 5 league fixtures that month.

Whittaker wears the number 10 and has scored 3 league goals this season, making him 1 of the 2 joint-top goalscorers this campaign for Plymouth.

TOP SCORER

The Pilgrims’ second top goalscorer is Ibrahim Cissoko, who will be missing from today’s game.

Cissoko began his senior career at Dutch club NEC before making the move to France to join Ligue 1 club Toulouse.

The number 7 signed for Argyle this summer on a season-long loan from Toulouse.

Predominantly playing as a left-winger, the 21-year-old has represented Netherlands Under-21s.

Cissoko has also netted 3 goals this campaign. It was announced on Monday that the attacker will be out of action for up to 3 months with injury, having undergone surgery over the weekend.

CURRENT FORM

The Pilgrims have recently joined the Blues in the relegation zone of the Championship table after their recent 3-0 loss to Leeds United landed them in 22nd.

Rooney’s side suffered a 4-0 defeat on the opening day to Sheffield Wednesday and since then they have accumulated 12 points with 3 victories, 3 draws and 7 defeats.

With only 3 points and a -1 goal difference separating the sides, a win would see the Blues leapfrog The Pilgrims and battle their way back up the Championship table.

With the Blues' form being stronger away from home, can they grow in confidence and bring 3 points back to PO4?

You can catch all of the unmissable action on Express FM when Pompey Live returns with full coverage at Home Park, where Jake Smith, Kirsty Roxanne and Henry Deacon will be providing full pre-match build-up, half-time analysis and post-game reaction.

Kick-off: 8pm!