Manchester City have managed only once to win in the Premier League  playing away at Portsmouth and that was the 3-1 win in November 2004. Bulgarian Martin Petrov is still a long way from full fitness recovery, after sustaining a knee injury while on international duty with Bulgaria in October.

The visitors will be boosted by Wayne Bridge, who is set to debut for his new club, and Nedum Onuoha was reported to be fully recovered and fit for the match from the hamstring problem that plagued him. This is a small consolation however for Manchester City, who apart from Petrov are missing a string of key players: Robinho is a doubt with a thigh strain and is unlikely to come out on the pitch, while Stephen Ireland is suspended and Shaun Wright-Phillips has a hamstring strain which will rule him out of the action.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth defender Glen Johnson is reported to be fit to return after an ankle injury, so he is going to replace Martin Cranie in the starting line-up. Pompey will have selection problems, however, as Papa Bouba Diop (knee), Richard Hughes (hamstring) and Jerome Thomas are all out, which means former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch will once again be deployed up front all on his own.

"The table is very tight at the moment and we need wins because one point is not enough in this league any more. When we played Manchester City earlier this season and lost 6-0, they were flying. I am not looking for revenge because I have been in England for eight years and I cannot go for revenge every time I lose," Portsmouth defender Sylvain Distin told the club's official website before the match.

Meanwhile, Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has told the BBC: "We are a bit light with the injuries we have at the moment. Fratton Park is always a difficult place to go. They are having a little bit of a difficult time themselves at the moment and they will be looking to turn their season around. We have to make sure we are up for the challenge."