Portsmouth vs Blackburn predictions: Pompey to chime up with home triumph
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- Portsmouth have suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats
- Rovers are without a win in four under Valerien Ismael
- Recommended bet: Portsmouth to win
Portsmouth need to put more daylight between themselves and the bottom three and will see a visit from freefalling Blackburn as a perfect opportunity.
Rovers have not won in four under new head coach Valerien Ismael, losing three on the spin, and have plunged out of the play-off places.
Team news
Portsmouth are reeling from a string of injuries with top scorer Callum Lang one of six players out for the rest of the season.
This game is also likely to be too soon for centre-backs Conor Shaughnessy and Rob Atkinson.
Left-back Harry Pickering is in line for his first Rovers' outing in three months, though Blackburn are also missing a stack of key men, including Scott Wharton and Andreas Weimann and January signing Augustus Kargbo.
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The stats
Portsmouth have won 32 of their 42 points (76%) at Fratton Park.
Pompey have won nine and lost just two of their last 13 home league fixtures, a sequence which includes wins over Coventry and Leeds.
They have conceded 61 goals and only Cardiff and Plymouth have let in more goals.
Blackburn have dropped to ninth after a five-game winless run. Under new boss Ismael they have taken one point out of a possible 12 and lost their last three.
Rovers have lost six of their last seven away games.
Prediction
Two sides struggling with mounting injury problems meet at Fratton Park in a fixture critical for both clubs.
Portsmouth had eased away from relegation strife only to suffer a pair of luckless 2-1 defeats by Plymouth and Preston before the break, and are now just four points above the drop zone.
Rovers, meanwhile, have dropped to ninth and are without a win in a month. They could make the play-offs, but they need a turnaround in form and fortunes.
New boss Ismael will hope a two-week break has given his squad a chance to get accustomed to a new approach post-John Eustace, whose decision to quit Ewood Park for Derby may not look quite as questionable as it did at the time.
Rovers know they can expect an onslaught at Fratton Park, which is where Pompey do all their best work.
They were unlucky to lose at home to Plymouth in their last home game, a rare home defeat these days, as they struggled to break down a limited, but solid opponent.
Rovers need to be more proactive, but clearly their form is an issue. This looks like a golden opportunity for Portsmouth to make it 10 wins in their last 14 home games and take a sizeable leap towards safety.
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