Portsmouth v Palace

Fratton Park, Tuesday 7.45pm

Kagisho Dikgacoi

Team news

South African midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi is set to miss the rest of the season due to a thigh injury sustained in Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Ipswich. Owen Garvan replaced him in that match and is likely to start tonight.

Homesick striker Antonio Pedroza could be given a run-out as could Academy product Kyle de Silva who came off the bench against Ipswich.

Mile Jedinak (groin), Jon Williams (hamstring) and Anthony Gardner (hamstring) are also out for the rest of the campaign.

Portsmouth defender Tal Ben Haim (calf), Benjani (ankle) and Kanu (back) are out of the game. Dave Kitson, Ashley Harris and Aaron Mokoena are all in contention to start for Pompey.

Quotes

Roy Hodgson

"Antonio Pedroza is is homesick and has indicated he'd like to go home. The young man has definitely got talent and we just need to see what is best for him.

"It has not been a great season for him football-wise but I'd be very surprised if he doesn't get some game time between now and the end of the season, to give him a taste and see if it acts as a carrot for next year. If he still feels the same then it is best if he does go home - but you can never say never in football."

Michael Appleton

"Let’s not get stupid here. There are so many things which need to go our way to stay in the division. It can still happen, though, so while it can still happen we will continue to have a bit of belief. Hopefully, we are then given the chance to completely wipe the slate clean and start afresh next year with a new squad.

"Maybe, two or three of them, especially, gave me an idea of where their minds are in terms of next season on Saturday. I’ll use that in the next three games. I’ve got to get the balance right between thinking about the game and what we need for next season.

"Even if we win all three games, all Bristol City need to do is look after their own shift. But we’ll be professional, do what we can do and try to finish the season on a high. If that’s good enough to stay in the division, so be it. We will continue to fight as hard as we can.

"I’m glad I’ve got two home games coming up because the fans will push and squeeze the ball into the back of the net. Who knows if we live to fight another day? We’ll see where we are tonight."

Portsmouth - league stats

Position	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points
23rd	43	12	11	20	47

Full league table

Portsmouth - current form

Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against
6	2	1	3	9	13

Full form table

Last five results

Date	Type	Home Team	Score	Away Team
01/11/2011	League	Crystal Palace	0 - 0	Portsmouth
22/02/2011	League	Portsmouth	1 - 0	Crystal Palace
14/09/2010	League	Crystal Palace	4 - 1	Portsmouth
24/08/2010	League Cup	Portsmouth	1 - 1	Crystal Palace
26/12/2004	League	Crystal Palace	0 - 1	Portsmouth

All time results

Last meeting

Palace 0-0 Portsmouth

Tuesday November 01 2011

Palace: Speroni, Gardner, Wright, McCarthy, Moxey, Clyne, Ambrose (Easter, 73), Dikgacoi, Parr (Scannell, 59), Murray, Zaha

Subs not used: O'Keefe, Price, Ramage

Bookings: Gardner, Moxey

Portsmouth: Henderson, Rocha, Ben-Haim, Pearce, Ward, Lawrence (Huseklepp, 83), Mokoena, Mullins, Norris, Kitson, Varney

Subs not used: Ashdown, Riise, Kanu, Razak

Bookings: Norris, Varney