Southend come to Pompey this weekend with their manager Phil Brown hoping the home team continue to feel the pressure.
Brown thinks being a big fish in League Two is getting to the Blues - something that some of their results this season would seem to bear out - and hopes they continue to struggle against his side, who won at Fratton last season.
The United boss pointed to Pompey's relatively-recent FA Cup win and Premier League spell and said:' That kind of history doesn’t go away and I think it’s the pressure of playing for Portsmouth that seems to be the problem for them,” said Brown.
'They’ve not really grabbed hold of League Two this season which has surprised because I really thought they would. But everyone who plays them knows they are taking on a giant and I think they put their best foot forward.
'We’ve certainly done that the three times we’ve played them since I’ve been here and I’m hoping we can make it four tomorrow.'
Andy Awford has been heartened by his own team's displays against top sides like Luton and Burton in recent weeks and wants to see a similar attitude against Southend.
Pompey expect James Dunne to be fiit. He lasted 73 minutes on his comeback against Burton before going off with an ankle injury.
On-loan West Ham forward Paul McCallum made his debut as a substitute against Burton and is pushing for a start.
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