Portsmouth face Barnsley in League One tonight.
Portsmouth make the long journey to Oakwell on an impressive five-game unbeaten run in League One. They’ve won four of their last five in the league, leaving them in 10th place.
It seems too late for John Mousinho’s Pompey side to make a late play-off charge though. Despite their impressive form of late, the Hampshire outfit still sit nine points shy of the top-six with 13 games left to play, though a win tonight could cut the gap to Barnsley to just six points.
Barnsley are on a strong run of their own though, with their unbeaten streak stretching eight matches.
Portsmouth team news
Portsmouth will be without Ronan Curtis for the rest of the season after it was confirmed he has suffered an ACL injury. Other absentees include midfielder Marlon Pack (knee), full-back Zak Swanson (groin) and centre-back Clark Robertson.
Tom Lowery’s long road to recovery was completed when he made an appearance off the bench against Cambridge United last time out, but given his struggles with injury over the course of the season, it seems safest that he remains as a substitute for the start here.
Jay Mingi also looks to be closing in on a return after he travelled with the squad to Cambridge at the weekend.
Predicted XI
Macey (GK)
Rafferty
Raggett
Towler
Ogilvie
Morrell
Tunnicliffe
Dale
Jacobs
Scarlett
Bishop
There will be players on the bench hopeful of breaking into the starting XI, but Mousinho could look to persist with the same team that has served him well in recent weeks in a bid to take down one of the division’s stronger sides in Barnsley.
Di’Shon Bernard is another option at the back but the current back four are deserving of maintaining their places. The likes of Paddy Lane and Reeco Hackett are options in the attacking midfielder/wing positions, but again, it might be a surprise if Mousinho changes a working formula.
The tie kicks off at 19:45 tonight.
