John Mousinho has ensured that Pompey will celebrate Christmas Day sitting at the top of the League One table.
But now he wants them to also book a spot in the last 16 of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy by beating AFC Wimbledon at Fratton Park this evening.
The side reached this stage of the competition by topping their group and know that a home tie with Oxford is up for grabs.
Mousinho will be rotating his squad amidst the busy festive schedule, but wants to see the recent high standards maintained.
The Blues boss said: “If you look at the early games of this competition, then it’s given us a chance to make a lot of changes to the side.
“That’s because we want to give some of the lads a chance to shine and you can’t replicate match fitness any other way.
“So these are really important games for us in making sure that everyone in our squad is ready to play.
"If you look at the early games of this competition, then it’s given us a chance to make a lot of changes to the side."
“We’ve had a 3-3 draw, a 5-1 victory and then a 2-1 win having played most of the match with just 10 men, so it’s been incredibly positive so far.
“The results and performances have been good, particularly as a lot of the guys involved haven’t had a lot of exposure to first team football this season.
“You can see from the way we’ve approached them that we want to compete and win. We take it seriously and want to continue our good form.
“If we can progress then it’s an extra game for us in January and again that’s going to be important for the squad.”
Pompey face a Dons outfit sitting seventh in the League Two standings, with Johnnie Jackson’s men not conceding a goal in their past three matches.
Mousinho said: “They’re in good form themselves and dominated in their draw with Salford at the weekend – it’s no surprise to see them doing well.
“They beat us in pre-season and I’m sure they will also make changes because of the busy schedule, but we know they’ll be really competitive.”