Wanderers finish a busy February with the long trip to Fratton Park to face Portsmouth.
The in-form Whites flew to the south coast to aid their preparation and try to secure the win that would lift them up to third place in League One.
Tenth-placed Pompey slipped off the play-off pace with a tough mid-winter but will be looking to continue their revival under recently appointed boss John Mousinho to at least keep the top six in sight.
Manager quotes:
Ian Evatt: “It’s crazy it’s still February. It’s been pretty hectic. We knew this month could define our season and I think so far we’ve had a pretty good one and we need to finish strongly.
“We’re still disappointed with the one defeat (at Wycombe) but we’re always striving to be the best we can be.
“One more huge game to go. Fratton Park is always a tough place to go. But we’re looking forward to it. We know what we need to do to try and get the three points.
“This is another challenging game off the back of another physical game on Saturday but we managed to rest one or two ready for this.
“I’m sure the boys now would have last Wednesday (the Papa Johns Trophy semi-final win) out of their systems and we can re-focus and get ready for the game.”
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho:
“They’ve had some emphatic wins – such as scoring five at Peterborough – and have reached the Papa Johns Trophy final.
“So they’re absolutely the form team in the division. They’re getting plenty of goals and not conceding many.
“Bolton look a real threat and so it’s another big test for us. I watched the away game up there just before I came in and it was comprehensive for them.
“We want to show how far we’ve come since then and there will be guys in our changing room who were hurt back then and this is a chance to seek a bit of redemption."
Team news:
Striker Victor Adeboyejo has shaken off a knock picked up after he had scored Wanderers’ opening goal against Port Vale on Saturday.
However, Cameron Jerome’s return from a back problem is likely to wait until the weekend.
Midfielder George Thomason is due to top up his game-time in the B Team on Tuesday before returning fully tuned up to the senior squad at Morecambe on Saturday.
George Johnston is set to return to training this week and MJ Williams next week as Wanderers’ squad moves back towards full strength – minus long-term absentees Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Jack Iredale.
Portsmouth are expected to have the same squad to the one on duty for their 4-0 win over Cheltenham Town on Saturday.
Midfielder Tom Lowery is not yet ready to return and striker Reeco Hackett may also miss out again with a back problem.
Form guide:
Wanderers will be looking for a sixth win in seven games in February when they try and round off a productive month on another high.
The Whites will also be seeking an eighth win in nine matches in total during their current run which continued with a 2-1 home win over Port Vale last Saturday.
Ian Evatt’s men won 3-0 in the first meeting with Portsmouth with goals from Dion Charles, Kieran Lee and Eoin Toal during the same week in January in which they also knocked Pompey out of the Papa Johns Trophy.
Portsmouth have since appointed a new permanent manager and have won four and drawn two of John Mousinho’s eight games in charge since the former Oxford and Burton midfielder replaced caretaker-boss Simon Bassey.
Pompey are unbeaten in three games and have been beaten just twice at Fratton Park in the league this season.
Officials:
Referee: Stephen Martin
Assistant referees: Ian Cooper, Rob Smith
Fourth official: Sam Purkiss
Kick-off:
Tuesday 7.45pm
Coverage:
Watch the game live via iFollow BWFC and a £10 video match pass available to buy HERE