Promotion hopefuls Portsmouth entertain a floundering Wigan Athletic

Since their last meeting back in 2018, so much has changed for Portsmouth and Wigan.

Portsmouth were just finding their feet in the league after promotion from League Two and Wigan were well on their way to automatic promotion to the Championship. Fast forward two years and it’s now Pompey who are on the charge for promotion to England’s second tier while Wigan try to stabilise the club after financial woes have seen them shaken.

 However, both teams are yet to come away with three points this season, so the two teams will feel this fixture has come at the right time to get off the mark, setting up an intriguing encounter.

 Pompey will be hoping they can add to their fine defensive record so far this league campaign after keeping two consecutive clean sheets in their opening two matches. Although this hasn’t stopped them recruiting in that area, as Danish defender Rasmus Nicolaisen penned a season-long loan deal from FC Midtjylland on Wednesday.

 The towering centre-half is available for Saturday’s game but it remains to be seen whether he will force his way into the back four following his arrival. Manager Kenny Jackett was pleased to utilize the European market and bring him in: “Rasmus is someone who’s been on our radar for quite a while.

“He was very keen to come to England and so we’re delighted to be able to sign him on loan. I’m sure it will be a positive partnership for him and us.”

 Offensively however, the Blues have failed to score a single goal in their previous 270 minutes of football. This will be a concern for Jackett as he looks to guide the club out of the third tier at the fourth time of asking. A win for the hosts could really get their season going after yet another poor start to the campaign.

 New boy Michael Jacobs – who possesses a very impressive record in this division – has been brought in to operate the number 10 role. A position Pompey had failed to replace after Gary Roberts left for the Latics back in 2017. The 28-year-old is set for a reunion with his former club after leaving them in the Summer.

 Despite his quality, Jackett is adamant he will only play when the time is right so he may have to wait a while longer for his first start: “I do want to keep working with him and I don’t want to lose him.

“It is good that he has had a full week and then at the end of that week, come on as a substitute and make quite a promising debut”

The hosts have only one absentee as goalkeeper Alex Bass, who picked up an injury in the first game of the season away at Stevenage, remains sidelined.

Jackett is likely to name an unchanged side that drew 0-0 at Rochdale last weekend.

The visitors travel down to Fratton Park off the back of a fantastic 6-1 win in the Check-a-trade trophy midweek against Liverpool’s U21s.

After making a fair few changes during the week, Wigan boss John Sheridan is likely to bring Danny Fox and Joe Garner back into the starting 11. Former Pompey players Kal Naismith and Viv Solomon-Otobor are also expected to start.

However, there will not be an emotional return for Gary Roberts, who won the League Two title with the Blues alongside Naismith back in 2017, before departing for the Latics. This comes after the 36-year-old picked up a hamstring problem against Gillingham, which could keep him out for up to six weeks.

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