Portsmouth v Leicester

Last updated : 23 September 2010 By BBC Sport

Leicester boss Paulo Sousa has plenty of options, with the likes of strikers Steve Howard and Paul Gallagher hoping to stay in his starting line-up.

Defender Miguel Vitor will also be hoping to keep his place.

MATCH PREVIEW

These clubs meet for the second time in four days, with Leicester having knocked Portsmouth out of the Carling Cup in midweek - a boost for the Foxes after a dismal start to their league campaign.

Portsmouth are bottom, the only team without a win in the Football League, and have scored only two Championship goals this season. Leicester, meanwhile, are only two places above them and have won just one league game since Paulo Sousa's appointment as manager.

Sousa's side are being punished for starting matches poorly. A goal down inside 12 minutes at home to QPR on Saturday, the Foxes have now conceded eight first-half goals this term - more than any other team in the division - and are yet to score in the first half. Their earliest goal of the campaign came in the 51st minute.

Misfiring City have had a whopping 111 attempts on goal this season. That is more than any other Championship side, but on average they are scoring once in every 19 attempts. The only team with a worse ratio than that is Pompey.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• These club have met 50 times in the league. Leicester have won 27 of those matches and Portsmouth 14, with nine drawn.

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• Their most recent league clashes were in the 2003/04 top-flight season, when Leicester won both matches.

• Portsmouth's only victory against Leicester in nine league and cup meetings over 16 years was a 2-1 win at Fratton Park in February 1996.

Portsmouth

• Only four goals have been scored at Portsmouth's Fratton Park home this season - fewer than at any other Championship ground.

• Pompey have scored fewer than any other team in the division this term and have had 83 unsuccessful attempts on goal.

Leicester

• Leicester are the only side not to have opened the scoring in a second-tier match this season.

• They are one of only two teams yet to score in the first half of a Championship game. The other is Ipswich.

Source: BBC Sport

Source: BBC Sport