Portsmouth v Carlisle United, Saturday 21 October, kick off 3pm
12 games in and Pompey remain undefeated.
Six of the last seven have been wins (obviously the other was a draw) with a run of five straight victories bringing them into this weekend's home game at Fratton Park.
As well as being one of the division's top scoring teams (they have 21 so far) they're also the meanest, having only conceded on eight occasions, with five League One clean sheets as part of that tally.
Pompey boss John Mousinho is refusing to get carried away, with his team having dropped off the pace to finish eighth last season, but he insists that his squad is better prepared and stronger this time round.
"We want to be a team that mixes it up in the top six and higher," he told BBC Radio Solent.
"Towards the back end of last season we weren't quite there and when we finished eighth I thought that was about right.
"I think we're a stronger team than last year and that's certainly where we're trying to get to."
Forward Colby Bishop joined Pompey from Accrington 15-months ago and he hasn't looked back since.
He has 32 goals from 66 appearances to date, with eight of those coming from just 14 outings this term.
That includes six from his last seven, with a brace in the 2-0 home win over Port Vale in their last league fixture.
He's been described as a classic number 9, but he's so much more than that with his power and movement.
He'll need to be watched.
Click HERE to purchase a match pass which will allow you to listen to this fixture via our match streaming service.
With match commentary provided by BBC Radio Cumbria, this is a fantastic way to follow your team through the season.
Match audio passes are available for ALL EFL league games - click HERE to find out more about this season’s iFollow United service.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | Portsmouth wins | |
| League | 13 | 11 | 16 |
| League Cup | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 13 | 11 | 17 |
These teams met at Brunton Park back in February 2017 and it was tight, until Gary Roberts opened the scoring for the away side on 73 minutes. Amine Lingazi and Jack Whatmough added to it in the final minutes, leaving Pompey with a comfortable win.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Reggie Lambe opened the scoring on the opening day of the season in August 2016, but Jamie Devitt was given his marching orders just before the half hour. Carl Baker levelled the scores before the break, and that's how it stayed.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Referee - Leigh Doughty
Assistant Referee 1 - George Byrne
Assistant Referee 2 - Carl Fitch-Jackson
Fourth Official - Gary Parsons
Observer - Brett Huxtable
Coach - Gary Willard
Our referee this weekend is Mr Leigh Doughty. Leigh has taken charge of eight games so far this season showing 36 yellow cards and one red.
Click HERE for the Ref Watch article that accompanies this fixture.
* Update from Monday 16 October - 534 tickets have been sold and we have received a further allocation of 200 tickets, which are now on sale.
Prices
| Adult | £25 |
| Senior (65+) | £19 |
| Young Person (18-22) | £17 |
| Junior (14-17) | £10 |
| Child (2-13)* | £5 |
| Wheelchair | £16 |
| Ambulant | £17 |
| Carer | FOC |
* Must be accompanied by an over 18.
Prices increase by £2 on the day of the game.
This season there is licensed standing in the away end, these tickets are only available in-person or over the phone.
Please let the ticket office know if you require a standing ticket. There will be no transferring between rows and those who have purchased in the seated area will be expected to stay seated.
Fratton Park Stadium is completely cashless.
++++
Dates of sale
| Date | Time |
| Thu 19 Oct | 10am – 4pm |
Disabled info
Ambulant supporters who require a free carer’s ticket need to be on the highest rate of DLA.
Parking
The car park is adjacent to the stadium and the post code is PO4 8SX which leads you into Anson Road off Rodney Road. There are five parking spaces for blue badge holders, charged at £5.50 per space and a valid blue badge must be displayed. Please let the ticket office know if you require one.
Methods of purchase:
- In person – come to the Pioneer ticket office at the designated time. Sales on home match days will be from the west side ticket office (from 5.30pm on a midweek home match day).
- Phone – ring the ticket office 03300 945 930 option 1 at the designated times and pay with a credit / debit card.
- Internet – buy online HERE.
++++
If you wish to purchase bus travel you can organise this by calling CUSAT on 07563 700 987.
Click HERE for departure times and prices. Please note - these are subject to change.