by Josh Bell
Pompey travel to Peterborough on Saturday for a second consecutive away game, searching for just a second win on their travels this season.
The Blues led at Cardiff last week, before Craig Conway’s strike deep into injury-time condemned them to a 3-2 defeat in south Wales.
But Michael Appleton’s side will be keen to put that result behind them and build on the three-point haul they collected at Burnley before Christmas.
They face a Peterborough side sitting 16th in the Championship table – one place and two points above Pompey.
Darren Ferguson’s return to London Road as manager last January provided a fairytale conclusion to the season.
The Scot was responsible for guiding Posh to back-to-back promotions from League Two to the second tier in 2008 and 2009.
However, their bandwagon ground to halt as they sat bottom of the Championship in November 2009 with just two victories, and Ferguson left the club by mutual consent.
While Peterborough continued their – ultimately unsuccessful – fight against relegation, Ferguson took charge of Championship rivals Preston.
But he won only 13 of his 49 games in charge at Deepdale and left just under a year later with the Lilywhites bottom of the Championship – the same position he had left Posh.
So – just 14 months after leaving the club – Ferguson returned to London Road with Peterborough sitting fifth in the League One table.
His objective of leading Posh back to the Championship was achieved via the play-offs, with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Huddersfield at Old Trafford in the final.
Their hopes of a more successful season in the second tier were hit, however, following the departure of star striker Craig Mackail-Smith over the summer.
The Scotland international ended the season as the division’s top scorer with 27 goals and added three more in the play-offs, including the second against Huddersfield in the final.
However, the 27-year-old left for League One title winners Brighton, meaning the goalscoring burden now rests on the shoulders of Paul Taylor, Emile Sinclair, Lee Tomlin and George Boyd.
The latter struck 15 times in the league last season and has netted six times this term, while also providing seven assists from wide on the left. Tomlin has also made a contribution, laying on seven goals for his team-mates.
Taylor signed from Belgian giants Anderlecht last February and has scored six goals in 28 appearances this season, while Sinclair – who arrived from Macclesfield in the summer – has notched seven.
But their top scorer so far is midfielder Grant McCann with eight. The Northen Ireland international is replicating his form from last season, when he bagged 13 in all competitions.
McCann returned from a five-week lay-off with knee ligament damage in Peterborough’s 2-1 home defeat to Brighton last week and is likely to feature on Saturday.
Ferguson’s side are known for playing entertaining football and only Southampton have managed more than the 45 league goals netted by Posh this season.
They can be leaky at the other end of the pitch, however, and have shipped 44 goals – a total only Doncaster and Ipswich have surpassed.
The fourth round of the FA Cup means that Saturday’s clash at London Road only has to share the Championship spotlight with Reading’s match against Bristol City.
And Pompey will be hoping to claim a rare away victory to overhaul their opponents in the Championship table and provide some much-needed joy for the Blues’ loyal travelling fans.