Pompey face another big test of their promotion credentials when they travel to Barnsley.

The Tykes are sixth in the table and will be keen to do as Charlton did on Tuesday and topple the team who are six points clear at the top.

The Blues are still unbeaten on the road but know Barnsley will give them one of their stiffest tests of the season so far at Oakwell - where the hosts are unbeaten, with five wins and four draws to their name in nine outings.

Blues midfielder Tom Naylor told the club website he was expecting a good match-up: 'They’re up there for a reason — the same as us. We all know it’s going to be a particularly hard game. Then the one after that is against Sunderland, so it’s probably two of the biggest matches of the season for us.

'We want to get through them and the ones just after Christmas and then see where we are at the start of January. It’s nice that there’s a little bit of breathing space between the two fixtures because it gives us time to regroup.

'We’ve been playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday quite a lot recently, but we’ll be able to recharge the batteries. Everyone’s professional in this group and we know what to do on our rest days. We’re a fit bunch and show we can cope with a lot of games.'

Ben Thompson is free to take his place in midfield after an appeal over his red card versus Charlton was upheld. That means Kenny Jackett is likely to name an unchanged side.

Follow @Pompey_Fans

Click here to sign up for an account and reserve your username! You can then post on the Forum and add your comments to articles

Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.

Portsmouth Polls