Preview: Portsmouth vs. Ipswich Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Both Portsmouth and Ipswich Town will be looking to return to winning ways in League One when they lock horns at Fratton Park on Tuesday night.

The home side are currently 12th in the table, having picked up 15 points from their opening 12 matches, while Ipswich sit 15th, collecting 14 points from their first 12 games of the 2021-22 campaign.

Match preview

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Consistency has been a real problem for Portsmouth this season, with a record of four wins, three draws and five defeats from 12 matches bringing them 15 points, which is only good enough for 12th spot at this stage.

Danny Cowley's side have actually lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, including their last two, having been beaten 2-0 at home by Sutton United in the EFL Trophy on October 12 before suffering a 4-1 loss away to Rotherham United in the league on Saturday afternoon.

Portsmouth finished eighth in League One last season and are expected to challenge for the playoffs this term, but it remains to be seen whether they are capable of putting a string of results together.

The team's capabilities were on full display earlier this month when they thumped Sunderland 4-0, but Saturday's loss to Rotherham was a huge setback.

Portsmouth have actually won each of their last five games against Ipswich in all competitions, including both League One matches last season, while they are unbeaten against Tuesday's opponents since February 2012.

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Ipswich, meanwhile, will enter the contest off the back of a 2-2 draw with Cambridge United on Saturday; Sone Aluko sent the visitors two goals ahead in Cambridgeshire, but the home side recovered to claim a point.

The Blues have only lost one of their last seven matches in all competitions and have won two of their last three, including a 2-1 success over Shrewsbury Town in the league on October 9.

Ipswich are currently down in 15th position in the table, having picked up 14 points from their opening 12 matches, but they are just five points off the top six at this stage of the campaign.

Paul Cook's side will be looking to leapfrog Portsmouth on Tuesday evening, and there was hardly anything between the two teams in the league last term, with Pompey finishing eighth, one spot and three points above Ipswich.

The Tractor Boys should enter the contest full of confidence due to their impressive form but are heading to a ground where they have not triumphed since a 1-0 success during the 2011-12 Championship season.

Team News

Portsmouth will again be without the services of Clark Robertson, Paul Downing and Ellis Harrison through injury, but Ronan Curtis is available following a suspension and should return to the XI.

Curtis is likely to join John Marquis and Marcus Harness in the final third of the field, but Cowley should resist the temptation to make changes elsewhere.

A 3-4-1-2 formation is likely to be used by Pompey, with fit-again defender Connor Ogilvie keeping his spot, having come through the clash with Rotherham unscathed.

As for Ipswich, the Blues did not pick up any fresh injury concerns in their draw with Cambridge, so it would not be a surprise to see the same team sent onto the field.

Aluko will again feature on the right, having scored both goals at the weekend, while Scott Fraser, Conor Chaplin and Macauley Bonne should also retain their spots in the side.

Lee Evans, who has three league goals from midfield this season, was missing from the squad against Cambridge due to injury and is unlikely to be available for Tuesday's contest at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:

Bazunu; Freeman, Raggett, Ogilvie; Romeo, Tunnicliffe, Morrell, Brown; Harness; Curtis, Marquis

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Hladky; Donacien, Edmundson, Burgess, Penney; Morsy, El Mizouni; Aluko, Chaplin, Fraser, Bonne

We say: Portsmouth 1-1 Ipswich Town

This contest has a draw written all over it; Portsmouth will be desperate to bounce back from their heavy defeat at Rotherham, but Ipswich have shown a lot of encouraging signs in recent weeks, and we are finding it difficult to separate the two sides at Fratton Park.