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Chapter 1: What are the latest updates on Pompey and Middlesbrough?
The latest Pompey news updates every day from the Pompey Sound News Desk.
Football news agency Sports Mole have been previewing the Middlesbrough versus Pompey game and this is their summary.
Middlesbrough's automatic promotion hopes have been dented by a five-game winless run that started with a 1-0 defeat to Charlton Athletic. Borough then played out back-to-back draws against Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers, before they gave up a slender lead in a narrow 2-1 defeat to promotion rivals Millwall.
Kim Helberg's side dropped more points in Monday's trip clash against Swansea City, which produced three penalties, one for Borough and two for the Swans, in a 2-2 draw at the Swansea.com Stadium. With five games to play, Borough are sitting in third place, level on 72 points with Millwall and Ipswich Town, who occupy second and fourth spot respectively.
Middlesbrough may already have one eye on next weekend's fixture against Ipswich, who have two games in hand over Borough. But first, they will attempt to claim their first win over Portsmouth, since running out 3-1 winners at Fratton Park in March 2012.
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Chapter 2: How has Middlesbrough's recent performance affected their promotion hopes?
Borough will also be hoping to rediscover their goalscoring touch on home turf, after failing to score more than one in any of their previous six outings at the Riverside Stadium. Portsmouth meanwhile are in a fierce battle to preserve their championship status after winning 10, drawing 12, and losing 18 of their 40 league matches this term.
In fact, John Massinio's Chargers have gone eight games without a win since they recorded their most recent victory over Millwall on February 21. Pompey have at least managed to avoid defeat in their last two outings, playing out a one-all scoreline away to Norwich City, before rescuing a 2-2 draw from Monday's home clash against relegation rivals Oxford United.
The South Coast side, who played over 70 minutes with 10 players following Connor Ogilvie's red card, looked set to fall to a narrow 2-1 defeat before Andre Dizel netted a late leveller to salvage a precious point, leaving them in 21st spot and one point clear of Leicester City and Oxford.
Pompey are now preparing for a tricky run of fixtures that will see them take on the Championship's top three in their next four outings, including their game in hand against Ipswich Town at Fratton Park on Tuesday.
Portsmouth's current focus will be on Saturday's trip to Teesside, and while they lost just one of their last nine league games against Middlesbrough, they are winless in their previous five visits to the Riverside, since a 4-0 triumph in August 2006. We say, Middlesbrough won, Portsmouth won.
Middlesbrough will be desperate to return to winning ways, but considering they have won just one of their previous nine meetings with Pompey, we think they will be held to a draw on Saturday, especially as the south coast side have shown signs of improvement in their last two outings
sports mole on Saturday's match against Middlesbrough. That seems like a pretty balanced and fair and sufficiently extensive 360-degree overview of the game. What I found really refreshing is that they didn't go down the obvious route with their prediction, which would have been a 2-1 win to Middlesbrough or a 3-1 win, something like that.
They've gone for what's a slightly brave prediction of us. Nicking a draw.
Take that, wouldn't we? Pompey fans, eagerly awaiting the unveiling of the team sheet on Saturday, are facing a confusing dilemma in their own minds as to which of our centre-halves will start the game, partnering Regan Poole.
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Chapter 3: What challenges is Portsmouth facing in their upcoming match?
The 72 there with some predictable predictions. Obviously, in the build up to a game like this, both sides in the days leading up to it and on the morning of the game and just before they go out onto the pitch, their minds are full of the significance of the game and the way in which they're going to play their part in the game.
And at half-time as well, the focus returns to the situation that we're in and the scores of the other games that are significant in the promotion and the relegation battles. And after the game, of course, the analysis and everything once again returns to the position, the situation, the status, what the table looks like after that result for both teams. But in the heat of battle...
When you're actually out there on the pitch, cheered on or not by tens of thousands of people, and the rush of adrenaline that you get from playing in a professional football game, at the speed that the championship is played at, there's really no time to reflect on wider issues.
Long gone are the days when, if the ball was down the other end, the centre-half could put his hands on his hips and wonder what he's got for tea. Absolutely not. Concentration levels should be 100% from the moment the first whistle sounds until, well, half-time. Then you have an opportunity to think, take on board new information.
But then the second half starts, and once again, it's the whole hurly-burly. You know, you're running down the wing and you've got an opponent facing you down and you're thinking about whether you're going to go round him, go wide or pull it back and play square or play it back to your fullback or whatever. You just are not thinking about league tables.
or responsibilities uh to shut up shop shut up shop it's a slightly old-fashioned notion uh playing five at the back i suppose is is shutting up shop uh and that's something that you do from time to time without necessarily changing your game plan so i think that no matter what
The importance is, of this upcoming game against Middlesbrough, when the ball is in play, then everybody is thinking about their responsibility to the game. and to their teammates, and their responsibility to do the dirty, by which I mean to legitimately tackle and out-jump the opponents, and not at all about league positions and things. It shouldn't make any difference. The score can.
If it's 2-0 to them and there's 20 minutes to go, then there's chance. And so that might make you lob a bit further forward in the game, on the pitch. But as for, as I said, thinking about statistics and, you know, sequences of without a win, Middlesbrough, it's five. I think we're eight, aren't we? Two sides who can't win at the moment.
But that doesn't enter into your thinking when you're out there on the pitch, in your shirt, playing with your mates. You're just trying to do your best second by second.
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