Pompey Women will look to continue their perfect start to 2019 when they entertain Southampton at the PMC Stadium on Sunday (1.45pm kick-off).
The sides will be battling it out for a place in the last four of the Hampshire Cup – a competition won by the Blues in each of the past 10 seasons.
But their derby day opponents are unbeaten in the Southern Region Premier League so far this term and are the current pacesetters under the guidance of former England international Marieanne Spacey-Cale.
A 14-0 trouncing of Eastleigh on home soil back in November earned Pompey this tie against their neighbours.
There were a total of nine different scorers on that occasion, with Daisy McLachlan netting a hat-trick and Rachel Panting, Jade Bradley and Sarah Eadon adding braces.
The two sides met at Alton’s Anstey Park back in May for last season’s final and the Blues produced a confident display to win 5-0, as Shannon Albuery struck a treble, while Panting and McLachlan also found the target.
This latest encounter is only at the quarter-final stage, though, and is the first south coast derby to be staged at the PMC Stadium.
Southampton had a large overhaul of players over the summer, having lifted the Hampshire County League title in their first campaign since forming.
One of their new faces was former Blues midfielder Shannon Sievwright, whose parried free-kick was tapped in by Panting in that aforementioned final triumph.
Blues boss Jay Sadler said: “When you join Pompey, you understand how important this competition is and the pressures that come with it – having won it 14 times and 10 on the bounce.
"We know we need to go out there and give it our all for the badge and for the city."
“We don't want to be the side that loses the winning mentality in the competition. We’ve just got to focus on each game and want to stamp our authority on it, which will hopefully put us in the next round.
“I've been down here for around five years now and know what it means to the fans – whether it is the men, women, amputees or even walking football.
“When it's blue against red, it does mean something. So we know we need to go out there and give it our all for the badge and for the city.”
Midfielder Jade Bradley joined Pompey in the summer and is now looking forward to her first taste of derby action.
She said: “We want to win the Hampshire Cup again this season – we are one of the top teams left in it and are playing well at the moment.
“The team morale is good, the atmosphere is good and everyone is confident, so we can go into Sunday with a positive attitude.”
A large crowd is expected at the PMC Stadium and supporters are encouraged to arrive at the ground early to avoid queues.
Tickets for the cup clash are available on the turnstiles ahead of the tie. There is free entry for accompanied juniors (under 18), while it is £5 for adults and £2 for concessions (63+/unaccompanied juniors).