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The wait for the new Championship campaign is finally over as Pompey make the trip to face Oxford United this afternoon.
The Blues begin the season on the road and will be aiming to put their struggles away from Fratton Park last term safely to bed.
John Mousinho’s men, of course, won just three times on their travels - one of which came at the Kassam Stadium in February.
Indeed, Pompey head into the new campaign off the back of a positive pre-season, which saw them go unbeaten throughout the summer - and failed to concede in any of their friendlies.
There have also been plenty of new additions at Fratton Park during the transfer window, with six faces arriving through the doors so far.
Adrian Segecic, John Swift, Mark Kosznovszky, Luke Le Roux and Florian Binachini have sealed a move to the south coast. Meanwhile, Yang Min-hyeok completed his switch to the Blues on a season-long day on Friday - but it remains to be seen if he will feature for Mousinho’s men this afternoon.
Pompey will be back by a packed-out away end, with the Fratton faithful quickly selling their allocation for the opening day contest.
The Blues will be hoping to kick-off the new campaign with three points and face an Oxford United side, who finished 17th in the Championship last season.
With anticipation growing ahead of this afternoon’s curtain raiser, we’ve taken a look at the early team news from both camps as they prepare to get their season underway.
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5. Matt Ritchie - Out
Ritchie’s situation is clear and he has no future at Pompey. The 35-year-old is training away from Fratton Park as he explores his options elsewhere and has been linked with Reading this week. | Getty Images
6. Ole Romeny - Out
The Indonesia international will be sidelined for the U’s start to the season after picking up an injury in pre-season. The midfielder sustained an ankle problem during Oxford’s friendly against Arema, which resulted in him sitting out their final three warm-up fixtures. | Getty Images
7. Abdoulaye Kamara - Out
The midfielder has no future at Fratton Park and has been training away from the squad this summer. Mousinho made it clear Kamara is not part of his Championship plans this season and has been given the green light to depart. | Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
8. Przemyslaw Placheta - Out
Placheta missed Oxford’s final pre-season friendly of the summer against Malaga and remains a doubt for this afternoon’s opening fixture against Pompey. | Getty Images