Match Prediction: Portsmouth at Fratton Park

I'm upbeat about tomorrow. I'm going to be watching in a bar with a group of Aston Villa fans and only three speak English. One of them is even bringing a Portsmouth fan along from Portsmouth.

Let's get to the basics first. Mark Lawrenson, not a football expert, has predicted a 2-0 home win; this actually works in our favour as more often than not he doesn't get the result right although if you hit your head enough times against a brick wall it will knock you out.

I'm not saying this is a certain away win as Portsmouth are getting the results and have some very good players. The league table also doesn't lie and Portsmouth are sitting in third and one point ahead of us.

You don't have to be Gordo to work out that if we win we move two points above Portsmouth and quite possibly into a Champions League place and after one point from six at home we need to win.

We didn't take advantage of the last two games and when you add the five dropped points we'd be sitting in third four points clear of fourth place. Martin O'Neill knows how important it is and I'm not going to harp on as I believe it will all be different next season and I'm more than happy with fifth.

Last season we picked up four points from Portsmouth, one of those at Fratton Park but this season it's a different Portsmouth. They've won five, drawn and lost one at Fratton Park and this is mainly down to the experience that Harry Redknapp has brought in. That and quite possibly his assistant Tony Adams.

Villa lost a rare game in the week and we have be wary of that. Martin O'Neill has done a fantastic job and I always knew he would. He is getting the best out of the same players that were battling last season. - Harry Redknapp

Portsmouth are likely to be without Lomana LuaLua who has an ankle injury and Sean Davis still has his groin injury. Kanu will be starting and he is a threat if given time on the ball.

We know that Sorensen and Sutton are out and I'm convinced that Mellberg will start at right back again. If he gets the support going forward from Gabby he can put in some superb crosses. The only concern for Villa at the moment is there is no big man to get on to them and although Angel is good with his head he rarely out jumps or gets to it first.

We all know who is likely to start simply because the squad isn't that big and all will give 100% under Martin O'Neill. Key man for Villa tomorrow is Gabby. He's got to knock on and get his head down. His pace is electric and if he gets a clear shot at goal I believe he'll score one in three.

The squad has been over-achieving this season. That is definitely the case. Our main aim was to improve and get into the top half. We've got to be thinking of Portsmouth and it is winnable. - Martin O'Neill

I've no idea what the score will be but I expect Villa to play five in the middle and use Gabby as much as possible. A win would be great and I'll have a cheeky fiver on it but I think the smart money has to be a draw.

Let us know your prediction below. All the right answers will go into a hat and I'll pick a name out. The winner gets this Aston Villa t-shirt.