Will Fixture Issues Hamper Portsmouth.
On Tuesday evening Pompey will play their first League game in 17 days, this will be the first of 3 fixtures in 7 days, will this fixture pile up be an issue for them when Saints visit Fratton Park.
The visit of Saints will be Pompey's third fixture in just seven days after a break that saw them miss two consecutive Saturday's due to the International break and then last weekend they were due to have faced expelled Bury.
Even before this they were forced to call off another game due to the Victorious festival taking place in the City, meaning that they have only played on one weekend out of the last four.
Now with a bit or ring rustiness creeping in since their last competitive game on 31st August they are now having to play three games in seven days, with the third and final fixture being Saints and the question is whether this will sap their energy. not to mention if the enforced break will have broken any momentum they might have had.
The season has almost been broken in two for them, in August they played 7 games, in September they have yet to play a single fixture aside from two Football League Trophy Games in which they did not put out their first team.
Now they have a home fixture against Burton on Tuesday evening followed four days later with a tough trip to high flying Wycombe and then three days later the big one against Saints.
The task is firstly to find some momentum after a long frustrating break where they have had to train but with no game at the end of it and then the tiredness that this might bring.
To compound matters with Saints game against Bournemouth brought forward a day to Friday, we have an extra days recovery before the trip to Fratton.
So this truly is not the preparation that Kenny Jackett would have ideally liked and one that on the face of it clearly favours Saints.
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