With only a point separating the two sides in the League One table, Portsmouth could leapfrog Burton Albion with a victory on Tuesday.
The Brewers, meanwhile, will head to Fratton Park with an air of confidence after picking up seven points from their last three away games.
Match preview
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Pompey enter Tuesday's contest in low spirits having failed to win any of their last six games in all competitions.
Danny Cowley's men are still searching for their first league win of the calendar year, and they head into the midweek fixture off the back of three consecutive defeats after Portsmouth lost 3-2 to Oxford United at the weekend in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Luke McNally gave Oxford the lead, but Pompey struck back quickly through Michael Jacobs before the visitors were reduced to 10 men following Joe Morrell's dismissal.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Portsmouth hit the front courtesy of a Ronan Curtis strike, but the drama was not over as Oxford restored parity through Cameron Brannagan before Nathan Holland won the encounter for the U's in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Only Shrewsbury Town and Crewe Alexandra have scored fewer goals (3) than Pompey (4) in their last six league games and if Cowley's men are to halt their current slide, they need an improvement from their frontline.
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Although Burton are unbeaten in their last three away matches, they enter the midweek contest with one win from their last four games.
On Saturday, the Brewers were unable to take points off Sheffield Wednesday with goals from George Byers and Sylla Sow helping the Owls to a 2-0 victory.
Not only will the defeat disappoint Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, but it was also the first time that his side have conceded more than once in a game this calendar year.
Having collected just a point from their previous three home games, Burton Albion may welcome an away trip, especially as their last three away encounters have resulted in two wins and a draw.
The Brewers have also fared well against Portsmouth in their last two fixtures, with both of those meetings ending 2-1 in favour of Tuesday's visitors.
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Team News
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After being given his marching orders at the weekend, the hosts will be without the suspended Morrell.
Mahlon Romeo is a doubt for the hosts after missing Portsmouth's match on Saturday with an ankle injury, while Kieran Freeman could also be absent for the midweek encounter after he was forced off in the second half against Oxford.
Jacobs marked his first league start since November with a goal, and the 30-year-old will retain his place in the side for Tuesday's fixture.
Having spent the first half of the season at Burton, Harry Chapman made his first appearance for the club since rejoining on loan from Blackburn Rovers on transfer deadline day.
Christian Saydee made his debut for the Brewers as a second-half substitute on Saturday, and the Bournemouth loanee is expected to be on the bench once again on Tuesday.
After spending the first half of the campaign on loan at Portsmouth, Gassan Ahadme could come into the starting lineup to face his former side.
Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Carter, Raggett, Ogilvie; Hackett, Tunnicliffe, Thompson, Hume; Jacobs, Curtis, Hirst
Burton Albion possible starting lineup:
Garratt; Hughes, Brayford, Oshilaja; Hamer, Maddox, Shaughnessy, Kokolo; Chapman, Powell, Ahadme
We say: Portsmouth 1-2 Burton Albion
Despite losing on Saturday, Portsmouth can be pleased with their battling performance, but we think that they will fall short on Tuesday when they face a Burton side who have been successful on the road in recent weeks.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Portsmouth win with a probability of 50.94%. A draw had a probability of 25.4% and a win for Burton Albion had a probability of 23.66%.
The most likely scoreline for a Portsmouth win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.33%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.63%) and 2-1 (9.41%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.04%), while for a Burton Albion win it was 0-1 (7.72%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Portsmouth would win this match.
