It was only three weeks ago that Pompey saw off MK Dons to progress to the third round of the FA Cup.
But a lot can change in the space of 21 days and the Buckinghamshire side return to the south coast with a change in the dug-out.
Head coach Liam Manning was dismissed last Sunday following a defeat to Fleetwood that left them six points from safety inside the League One drop zone.
Danny Cowley was disappointed to see him pay the price, but still expects the visitors to provide a stern test.
The Blues boss said: “We were sad to see Liam lose his job after a brilliant previous season – I thought they deserved promotion and were unlucky not to achieve that.
“They sold some key players in the summer and it hasn’t quite worked out as well as they would have liked.
"It creates real competition for places in the team and that will always help to drive the standards, so it’s exciting."
“I went to watch them face Fleetwood last Saturday and there was no way they should have lost that game.
“They have a real clarity over how they want to play and have excellent footballers. I’m sure they’ll still be a force to be reckoned with.
“We’re looking forward to the match. We came through Tuesday night unscathed and are getting players back by the day, which is really positive.
“It creates real competition for places in the team and that will always help to drive the standards, so it’s exciting.”
Cowley was delighted to see Pompey fans snap up the full allocation of seats for next month’s cup trip to Tottenham so quickly.
He said: “It’s great that we’ll have a brilliant support there. I know we tried to get some more tickets, but unfortunately that wasn’t possible.
“That probably means Tottenham will sell out, so it should be a fantastic atmosphere and I know we won’t be short when it comes to noise.”