A look ahead to the Sky Bet League One clash between Posh and Portsmouth at the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday afternoon (3pm).
Peterborough United welcome Portsmouth to the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Sky Bet League One action (3pm) with Darren Ferguson’s men going into the game on the back of six straight wins in all competitions including five in the league.
Posh were 3-1 winners over Stevenage on Wednesday night and now face the league leaders ahead of the enforced break for the international weekend. Pompey have been incredibly consistent throughout this campaign and defeated Burton Albion 2-1 at Fratton Park last time out.
Pompey have to play a number of the top sides in the division in their run-in including Barnsley and Derby County. The Rams are in action against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday with the top four teams all facing each other.
TEAM NEWS
Midfielder Hector Kyprianou will miss out after collecting his 10th booking of the campaign in the win over Stevenage. The Cyprus international will now miss two games, the clash with Pompey and the Good Friday meeting with Carlisle United.
Jacob Wakeling is making good progress following an ankle injury, while young full-back James Dornelly is also nearing full fitness. Midfielder Jeando Fuchs remains on the sidelines and will miss the rest of the season, while goalkeeper Will Blackmore is also unlikely to feature before May.
As for the visitors, Conor Ogilvie, Anthony Scully and Callum Lang have all recently been added to a length injury list. The visitors are still expected to be without Regan Poole, Tom McIntyre, Ben Stevenson, Tom Lowery, Joe Morrell, Alex Robertson, Terry Devlin and Tino Anjorin.
Left-back Jack Sparkes is expected to return to the matchday squad after he missed Tuesday's win due to a minor injury issue.
ONE TO WATCH
Colby Bishop
The prolific striker made the switch from Accrington in the summer of 2022. He began his career with Notts County and played a handful of games before moving on to feature for Worcester, Boston and Leamington.
Prolific form for the latter club included a haul of 29 goals from 36 starts during the 2018/19 National League North campaign. That earned Bishop a move to Accrington, although he first had to work out his notice period as a primary school teacher.
He excelled in a return to the professional game, however, and hit double figures in each of his three seasons at the Crown Ground. Bishop struck 24 times in his first campaign on the south coast and was named Player of the Year by supporters and team-mates.
FROM THE MANAGER
“I have been very impressed with Portsmouth and their manager John Mousinho. To take the Portsmouth job as your first managerial job and handle the expectation and deliver what he has delivered so far has been excellent. They have threats from all over the pitch, they are a good side, but I am sure they are saying the same about us. We have to get a really strong level of performance to win the game,” Darren Ferguson said.
TICKET NEWS
Tickets are on sale at the Weston Homes Stadium Ticket Office and online at www.theposhtickets.com. The GH Display Stand will be occupied by Portsmouth fans with the visitors selling their entire allocation of around 4,000. They will also be in the away section of the North Stand.
- Please note that this is an ALL-TICKET match and no tickets will be available on the day.
POSH+
Overseas subscribers can purchase a match pass for £10 with audio passes available worldwide for £5 with commentary from Chris Dowsett and Nilesh Patel. Midfielder Hector Kyprianou will also be joining the team pre-game to give his thoughts.
HEAD TO HEAD
Posh were beaten 3-1 by Portsmouth at Fratton Park earlier in the season. Ricky-Jade Jones scored the Posh goal. The last time the two sides met at the Weston Homes Stadium was back in January 2023 when a brace from Jonson Clarke-Harris secured a 2-1 victory.
A FOOT IN BOTH CAMPS
Goalkeeper Will Norris has been a consistent last line of defence for Pompey this season after joining from Burnley in the summer following a loan stint with Posh last term. Among the other players to have featured for both clubs down the years include; Nathan Thompson, Dan Butler, Guy Whittingham, Luke McGee, Christian Burgess, Luke McGee, Ryan Tunnicliffe, David Norris, Peter Price, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Paul Jones and Ian Hendon.
KIT COLOURS
Posh will be in their home kit for the game.
MATCH OFFICIAL
Alex Chilowicz is the match referee.