Plymouth Argyle will be looking to cement their place in the playoff positions on Tuesday when they welcome Portsmouth to Home Park.
The visitors are also in the hunt to earn promotion this season, and head into the game with an eight-match unbeaten streak, providing plenty of confidence to the squad.
Match preview
© Reuters
Plymouth Argyle find themselves sitting just inside the playoffs at the moment, sitting in sixth place, but as they are above Sheffield Wednesday by a single point, there is real pressure on each game right now.
The Pilgrims picked up three points at the weekend, defeating Bolton Wanderers by a goal to nil, with Macaulay Gillesphey scoring the only goal of the game.
This extended their unbeaten run to three games, with Steven Schumacher's men winning all of those, keeping clean sheets in each fixture as well, adding plenty of confidence to Michael Cooper in goal.
Plymouth have won 10 of their 17 home matches this season, only being defeated four times, which is a run they will be hoping to continue as the squad looks to put pressure on those above them.
However, the Pilgrims were unable to defeat their upcoming opponents when they last met, with the teams sharing points after a 2-2 draw with Sean Raggett scoring a last-minute equaliser for Portsmouth.
© Reuters
Pompey are in fine form at the moment, being undefeated across their previous eight encounters which has put them in contention to try and earn promotion as they chase a playoff spot.
Right now Danny Cowley's men are seven points away from the top six, but that is a gap they could shrink with a victory in midweek, which would provide even more belief to the squad.
Portsmouth were held to a goalless draw on Saturday when they faced Ipswich Town, with this being the first time they have failed to score since January 20.
The squad have showcased a lot of offensive qualities as of late, finding the back of the net 15 times in their previous six outings, which is what they will need to bring when they face a strong defensive unit like Plymouth.
With their recent form, and the fact that they could climb up to ninth with a victory on Tuesday, there is a lot to compete for, and the squad could push the hosts.
- W
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Schumacher kept the same starting XI for the victory against Bolton Wanderers, and after the team has produced six points in a row, there is a chance he will opt to make no tweaks again.
With Conor Grant and Joe Edwards working as wing-backs to provide width, and help both offensively and defensively, it opens Plymouth's game up, which could be vital against Pompey.
Cowley is expecting Michael Jacobs to be back as an option in midweek for the first time in a month since his knee injury, but it is unknown if he will be fit enough to start the game.
Tyler Walker is suffering from an ankle issue at the moment, although he did make himself available to his boss, appearing from the bench at the weekend, it is unlikely that he will be used on Tuesday.
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Wilson, Bolton, Gillesphey; Grant, Mayor, Houghton, Broom, Edwards; Ennis, Hardie
Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Robertson, Raggett, Carter; Ogilvie, Tunnicliffe, Thompson, Romeo, Curtis; O'Brien, Hirst
We say: Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Portsmouth
Both teams are in great form right now, and they are each competing for the same prize of a playoff spot, which should lead to this being a close encounter overall.
However, with Portsmouth showcasing some fantastic attacking qualities recently, they could just edge this performance to take all three points.
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 Plymouth Argyle win with a probability of 41.45%. A win for Portsmouth had a probability of 32.45% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Plymouth Argyle win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.2%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.75%) and 2-0 (7.19%). The likeliest Portsmouth win was 0-1 (8.8%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.4%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Plymouth Argyle in this match.
