Danny Cowley is pleased to be able to hand minutes to several members of his squad this evening.
Pompey take on Aston Villa’s under-21 side in the second round of Papa Johns Trophy group stage fixtures.
They will be searching for their first win in this season’s competition following a draw at Crawley last time out.
Cowley will be heavily rotating his squad at Fratton Park, but knows that the young Villans have the potential to cause problems.
The Blues boss said: “We were frustrated to lose our unbeaten run at Ipswich on Saturday, but now we have an immediate opportunity to try to get back to winning ways.
“Villa have an excellent academy and I remember watching them in the 2021 FA Youth Cup final, when they beat Liverpool.
“They’ve really invested in their facilities, their staff and their players, bringing in a lot of talented young players.
"We have the opportunity to bring some academy players into our group, while there will be others who need minutes."
“I saw them in the Papa Johns Trophy last season and they represented the club well, so we’re looking forward to the game.
“We have the opportunity to bring some academy players into our group, while there will be others who need minutes.
“Josh Oluwayemi always impresses me in training – he’s very athletic and makes saves that don’t look possible at times.
“He has a wonderful wingspan and although he’s still young and learning his trade, we’ve enjoyed working with him because he has an infectious personality.
“Joe Pigott is another great character, who’s really popular in the dressing room. He has a dry sense of humour and is good to be around.
“He adds something different to our side and is a cool, composed finisher who can score in a variety of ways.
“It will also be good to see Denver Hume back in action at Fratton Park and to get some minutes into him.”
After Saturday’s defeat at Portman Road, Cowley revealed that Jay Mingi had been suffering from a shin problem.
He said: “Jay’s got compartment syndrome and we’re just doing some tests with him to try to understand the situation a little bit more.
“Then we can put the necessary processes in place, but it comes in sporadically and is quite frustrating for him.”