Wanderers make the long trip to down south on Monday night for a top of the table clash in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Monday night.
Ian Evatt’s men take on a Portsmouth side at Fratton Park who currently sit in first position but with Wanderers hot on their tails, it’s all set up for a keenly fought contest under the lights.
Manager quotes
Ian Evatt: “It's a game both teams will be looking forward to. Both teams are in really good form. They have showed exceptional consistency for a significant period of time and we are playing probably the best football in my reign as manager, so it's a really good match-up.
"We know the league table isn't decided on Monday, but we can certainly lay a marker down and I think both teams will be doing all they can to make sure that happens.
"There's nothing to worry about or fear. We need to go there full of confidence and full of belief and show everybody what we're capable of and hopefully we can execute a good performance which gives us a great chance of winning the game."
Portsmouth Manager John Mousinho: “There’s no point saying it’s anything other than a big match for both clubs – it’s first against second in front of the television cameras.
"Bolton have got a good system and know what they’re doing, while there’s a lot of attacking quality. They’ll always be a goal threat.
“They’re right up there with us and definitely one of the best sides in the division, so a win would be fantastic.”
Team News
Ian Evatt confirmed this week that Dan Nlundulu has unfortunately suffered a hamstring injury in the win over Port Vale and will require surgery which will rule him out for a number of months.
Pompey could be set to be missing all of Colby Bishop, Regan Poole, Anthony Scully, Connor Ogilvie and Tino Anjorin.
However they will welcome Joe Morrell back into the fold after suspension.
Form guide
As it to expected with any team topping the division, Pompey have been picking up results consistently since the start of the campaign. A run of six straight league wins across September and October cemented Mousinho’s men at the upper echelons on the table and they haven’t looked back since.
Uncharacteristically, Pompey’s last home game resulted in a 4-0 defeat to Blackpool which was their first league defeat of the season but they responded as you’d expect with two away wins at Burton Albion and Northampton.
Wanderers’ last outing was a 2-0 home win against Port Vale in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy on Tuesday night thanks to goals from Dion Charles and Carlos Mendes Gomes.
That win stretched the Whites’ unbeaten run to 11 games in all competitions and they’ll have to be at their best to preserve that at Fratton Park.
Officials:
Referee: Paul Howard
Assistant Referees: Robert Hyde and Matthew Smith
Fourth Official: Alan Young
Kick-off:
Monday, 8pm.
Tickets:
There is no pay on the day for this fixture and tickets are now off sale.
Wanderers are set to be backed by a fantastic following on the south coast.
Coverage:
This game will be live on Sky Sports and therefore isn’t available to stream on Wanderers TV in the UK.
International supporters are still able to watch live on Wanderers TV with UK based supporters able to listen with an audio pass.
You can buy a match pass by clicking HERE.
International supporters can buy either a match pass, an annual pass or a monthly pass to watch the match by clicking HERE.