Portsmouth v Shrewsbury: On the road again... next stop Pompey for Shrews
Shrewsbury will have to bounce back from late heartbreak at Plymouth when they make another long trip down south to Portsmouth this weekend.
The League One fixtures have not been kind to Town this week, when they arrive home late on Saturday evening – or the early hours of Sunday – they will have completed 900 miles on the road in the space of five days.
Something that surely is not conducive to elite athletes producing their best performance is this volume of travelling and the fixture pile-up.
A three-game week is hard enough on the players physically, but the travelling makes it even harder, not to mention the quality of the opposition they faced in Plymouth and will come up against when they take on Pompey.
Nevertheless, despite the barriers Cotterill’s men have faced, they showed immense character when they faced the league leaders. Only a late fightback on the Devon coast from their hosts led to Shrewsbury eventually losing 2-1, and they deserved something out of the game.
The boss will be hoping for more of the same this weekend from his team, they showed immense character in a tough arena at Home Park – which saw a sold-out home allocation making it an intimidating atmosphere.
Cotterill will be hoping that his side creates quality opportunities again, but this time they find their shooting boots in front of goal.
Christian Saydee has made four goal contributions in the last seven games with two goals and two assists.
The loanee from Bournemouth has been excellent, he holds the ball up well, but he has great touch too, and he brings his team-mates into play.
Julien Dacosta made his comeback to the first-team squad which is a bonus for the wingback after hernia and groin problems. It gives the Town boss another option if he feels the need to shake it up after a long week.
Other options for squad rotation could include Aiden O’Brien coming into the team against his old club.
The forward has not made a start yet in the league but he has made progress in recent weeks.
Their hosts are another side who have not yet lost on home turf, during their seven games at Fratton Park they have won three and drawn four.
Colby Bishop is the one to watch out for, the forward has netted eight times in his 14 appearances, and he will be a threat to Town’s backline.
Former Bristol City and Cardiff City, Marlon Pack has returned to the club, he got sent off a few weeks back in their 3-0 defeat to Charlton for two yellow cards but his experience will be invaluable at this level and will be available for Salop’s visit. Portsmouth have had a steady start to the season, they sit in sixth place in the table and have only lost two games, so another challenging game for Cotterill’s men.
