Preview: AFC Wimbledon vs. Portsmouth - prediction, team news, lineups

Portsmouth can climb into the League One playoff positions with victory on Saturday, when they travel to Plough Lane where they will face AFC Wimbledon, who are unbeaten in five games across all competitions.

The home side currently sit 17th in the table but they do have a game in hand on every team around them, while Portsmouth are on a nine-game unbeaten run in League One.

Match preview

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Wimbledon have not lost a game since the last time they played against Portsmouth, which was on 20 November when Pompey scored a last-minute winner through Marcus Harness at Fratton Park.

Since then, Mark Robinson's side have progressed into the third round of the FA Cup and put together their best string of results since the start of the season.

There was late drama last time out for the Dons, who must have thought that they had secured three points when Jack Rudoni scored in the 92nd minute against Wycombe Wanderers, but the Chairboys were not finished as Joe Jacobson converted a 96th-minute penalty to level the score at 2-2.

After a seven-game streak whereby Wimbledon never managed more than one goal in a single game running from the end of October through into November, Robinson's side have now scored at least two in each of their last five matches in all competitions, so they will be confident about getting on the scoresheet on Saturday.

A not-so-convincing start to the season meant that by the middle of October Portsmouth had fallen to 17th in League One with just one win in 10 matches, byt Danny Cowley has turned Pompey's fortunes around and now a playoff charge is building.

A 2-0 win against Morecambe last weekend was thoroughly deserved as Portsmouth recorded eight shots on target, with Harness's and Connor Ogilvie's strikes the ones that mattered.

Not only were the three points secured that day, but it was goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu's fourth league clean sheet in a row which may combat Wimbledon's form of scoring at least two goals in every game at the moment.

Portsmouth have won four away games in League One this season, and three of those have come in their last three matches on the road, including three clean sheets, suggesting that Pompey travel to London in confident mood this weekend.

These two teams will know each other well after Saturday's encounter as it is the third meeting this season, having played them once in the league and in the EFL Cup at the beginning of September.

It's a win a piece so far as Wimbledon came out on top with a 5-3 win in September, despite Ellis Harrison's hat-trick for Pompey, who could not stop a 10-minute turnaround from Wimbledon at the end of the match.

Team News

The only change to Wimbledon's starting 11 last time out was Henry Lawrence returning to the side in place of Daniel Csoka, and Lawrence is expected to retain his place this Saturday.

Winger Ayoub Assal has scored four goals in his last four matches while fellow young winger Rudoni scored a brace against Wycombe, meaning that the hosts offer a lot of attacking threat in the wide areas.

Alex Woodyard and Anthony Hartigan have nearly been completely consistently picked from the start this season, bar two games Hartigan did not start in, and the midfield pair are certain to start again this Saturday.

Portsmouth will line up in a 3-4-1-2 formation, with Ronan Curtis and George Hirst leading the line while Harness operates slightly deeper in the number 10 role.

Recco Hackett-Fairchild and Mahlon Romeo will offer the width for the away side from the wing-back positions, with Miguel Azeez and Shaun Williams protecting the back three from the centre of midfield.

AFC Wimbledon possible starting lineup:
Tzanev; Lawrence, Guinness-Walker; Heneghan, Osew; Hartigan, Woodyard; Rudoni, McCormick, Assal; Palmer

Portsmouth possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Ogilvie, Raggett, Freeman; Hackett-Fairchild, Williams, Azeez, Romeo; Harness; Hirst, Curtis

We say: AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Portsmouth

With Wimbledon in good scoring form, it is likely that they will get on the scoresheet despite Portsmouth's good clean sheet record currently.

However, Pompey are likely to come away from Plough Lane with three points given their good form and confidence from three away wins on the bounce, and the Dons have leaked goals in certain games recently.

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