Portsmouth vs Derby Predictions

• Portsmouth are on a 13-match unbeaten run which has included ten wins
• Derby have won five of their last six games, with four of those victories coming to nil
• The last three meetings between the pair have finished level
• Six of the last seven clashes between Portsmouth and Derby have seen both sides find the net

Tight affair expected in top-two tussle

Just five points separate leaders Portsmouth and second-placed Derby in the League One table, making Tuesday’s clash at Fratton Park a huge one in the fight for the title in the English third-tier.

Pompey rate the slightly stronger of the two, having put together a 13-match unbeaten run which has included ten victories since a 3-0 humbling at the hands of Leyton Orient in January, but the Rams have also been excellent recently, winning five of their last six games, and should not be discounted on the south coast.

Portsmouth’s squad is young and exciting while Derby’s is littered with veterans, with the likes of Conor Hourihane, Martyn Waghorn and James Collins in their ranks, and that extra experience could prove pivotal in the run-in, especially at Fratton Park where Paul Warne’s side should be backed to land a blow alongside their hosts.

Little between League One leaders

Derby have scored three goals in four of their last nine away games, highlighting the firepower in their squad, and should have enough to score on the south coast.

Portsmouth have been in rock-solid form but somewhat less rock-solid at the back. John Mousinho’s men have conceded to strugglers Reading, Cambridge and Burton in their unbeaten run and look likely to be breached by Derby on Tuesday.

Both teams scored in six of the last seven meetings between Pompey and the Rams and it could pay to back the same outcome in what promises to be a tantalising top-two clash at Fratton Park.