Kyle Dempsey and Will Forrester are both back from injury as Wanderers aim to pick up where they left off ahead of the international break.
Forrester has recovered from a minor knee problem that kept the defender out of the Whites’ last two games as Ian Evatt’s men extended their winning run to seven matches.
And Dempsey this week made a welcome return to full training after sitting out those seven games with a stress fracture in his back which ended the midfielder’s ever-present run in League One in early October.
“They have both looked really good in training this week,” confirmed Evatt. “Kyle looks like he hasn't been away. He looks re-energised and looks a lot freer in his movement which is important.
“Will has stepped back in really comfortably and not had any issues at all, so I'm delighted we've got them both back. The squad is really strong again and we're looking forward to this next run of fixtures.
“We had that sticky spell at the end of September and October when we missed a few players, but we've got those back now and the main focus is to try and keep them all in one piece and healthy because once they are, the squad is really competitive, really good and really high quality.”
Saturday’s visit of Exeter City might come too soon for Dempsey to start but his return is a timely one given Wanderers’ run of nine games between now and New Year’s Day.
That starts with the home game against the Grecians before a mid-week to trip to face an Oxford side above Wanderers in the top two only on goal difference and then back-to-back home cup ties in the FA Cup and Bristol Street Motors (EFL) Trophy.
“We're still in two cup competitions, we're not where we want to be in the league yet, so there's work to do there, and we have some big games coming up,” added boss Evatt, who has overseen 10 wins in the Whites’ last 11 fixtures.
“Everyone will focus on the Oxford and Portsmouth away games but there are lots of other testing fixtures before and after them that we need to give full focus to.
“I'm pleased with what I'm seeing in training, so fingers crossed we stay on the straight and narrow with the guys and we can focus on this next block of fixtures which is very important. Hopefully we can carry on this run we're on at the moment.”
Watch manager Ian Evatt's pre-match interview on Wanderers TV HERE