Steve Foster
Well-known member
Have to admit, this is the League 1 fixture I have been waiting for all season.
Crawley (5th) taking on bust Pompey (22nd) in Sussex. Who would of thought that Portsmouth would be playing a league fixture in Crawley, a few years ago?
Kyle McFadzean, Hope Akpan, Gary Alexander and Nicky Ajose are set to return to Crawley's starting line-up after being rested in midweek.
Centre-back Claude Davis (hip) and midfielder Sergio Torres (leg) are major doubts.
Portsmouth will be missing Paul Connolly, Mustapha Dumbuya, Conor Clifford and Jordan Obita on Sunday.
Midfielder Lee Williamson could return from a hamstring injury while new signing Gabor Gyepes could also play.
VIEWS FROM THE TRAINING GROUND
Crawley Town boss Ritchie Barker told BBC Sussex:
"Four years ago there were four divisions between us and now we are 15 places above them in the league, which is great.
"There will be a lot of players playing for their futures in terms of [winning] short-term contracts. There may even be a couple of players who don't know whether they're going to be there next week.
"With the game being live on TV, one or two of them may see it as a chance to get into the shop window. They've signed some good players recently."
Portsmouth manager Michael Appleton told BBC Radio Solent:
"We will try and prepare as best we can in the circumstances.
"We've trained really well this week and have done a lot of work on what we can expect from Crawley and what we can do to hurt them.
"That's all you can do. Turn up to training and work hard and hope we get a bit of luck on Saturday and people perform on the day.
"Crawley have come through the leagues, have had a injection of capital in the club to improve areas of the football club from the infrastructure and the players. They are now reaping the benefits of that.
"Our first victory is not too far away and not too far down the line we will give somebody a bit of a spanking. Hopefully this weekend."
Crawley (5th) taking on bust Pompey (22nd) in Sussex. Who would of thought that Portsmouth would be playing a league fixture in Crawley, a few years ago?
Kyle McFadzean, Hope Akpan, Gary Alexander and Nicky Ajose are set to return to Crawley's starting line-up after being rested in midweek.
Centre-back Claude Davis (hip) and midfielder Sergio Torres (leg) are major doubts.
Portsmouth will be missing Paul Connolly, Mustapha Dumbuya, Conor Clifford and Jordan Obita on Sunday.
Midfielder Lee Williamson could return from a hamstring injury while new signing Gabor Gyepes could also play.
VIEWS FROM THE TRAINING GROUND
Crawley Town boss Ritchie Barker told BBC Sussex:
"Four years ago there were four divisions between us and now we are 15 places above them in the league, which is great.
"There will be a lot of players playing for their futures in terms of [winning] short-term contracts. There may even be a couple of players who don't know whether they're going to be there next week.
"With the game being live on TV, one or two of them may see it as a chance to get into the shop window. They've signed some good players recently."
Portsmouth manager Michael Appleton told BBC Radio Solent:
"We will try and prepare as best we can in the circumstances.
"We've trained really well this week and have done a lot of work on what we can expect from Crawley and what we can do to hurt them.
"That's all you can do. Turn up to training and work hard and hope we get a bit of luck on Saturday and people perform on the day.
"Crawley have come through the leagues, have had a injection of capital in the club to improve areas of the football club from the infrastructure and the players. They are now reaping the benefits of that.
"Our first victory is not too far away and not too far down the line we will give somebody a bit of a spanking. Hopefully this weekend."
