Bournemouth confident they have strength to beat Pompey
Tommy Elphick is set to return for Bournemouth at Pompey - and says the Cherries are confident of continuing their run in the FA Cup.
The centre-half played for the under-21s earlier in the week and Bournemouth see their visit to Fratton as a 'stepping stone' for him on the way back to Premier League action.
Elphick told the Bournemouth Echo: 'The plan is to be available for Saturday. The way the gaffer has approached the FA Cup over the past couple of seasons in terms of making changes ties in well with what I need.
'There is a healthy pressure with it being a derby against a side going well in League Two so it is an ideal stepping stone. Going into the week, the plan was to get an hour in this (under-21) game and then as long as possible on Saturday. It is a good platform to get Premier League ready.
'On a personal level, Fratton Park was the place I made my comeback from my Achilles surgery when I first joined the club so it will be a comfort to go somewhere I know with a good pitch, as well as getting the right kind of test against a team that is doing well.
'The mentality we have had in the competition has worked really well for us,” he added. "It has given the players on the fringes the minutes to prove they are ready to take that step into the first team.
'We have the strength in depth and want to do well in this competition. When you look round at the players we had out against Gillingham, you have Adam Federici and Sylvain Distin to add to that who played in the last round so we have a really strong side.'
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