'A bit scary': Call made over Portsmouth's Championship position ahead of Southampton, Sheffield United and Norwich City meetings
The south-coast derby with Southampton sparks a challenging run for John Mousinho’s men after the international break, which EFL experts believe could offer the Blues cause for concern.
Pompey's daunting run of games after the international break could have them staring into a Championship relegation dogfight.
But the Blues are offering evidence of defensive resilience which can leave them punching above their weight in the second tier this term.
EFL expert on Pompey run: ‘I think things could start looking a bit scary’
That's the view of EFL experts Not The Top 20 (NTT20), who have given their breakdown of where they feel John Mousinho's side currently stand at the level.
Pompey have entered the new-look international break with eight points from seven games, to leave them in 19th place in the formative Championship table.
It's been a mixed bag of results so far with two wins, two draws and three defeats from their seven outings to date.
The bar is undoubtedly raised when Mousinho's men return to action, however, with the small matter of a south-coast derby trip to Southampton first up.
That takes place on October 11, with Sheffield United arriving at Fratton Park the following Wednesday.
After that it's a trip to Carrow Road to take on Norwich City and mid-week visit to Wolves on October 20, before Millwall come to PO4 at the end of a run of five games in the space of 13 days.
NTT20's Ali Maxwell feels there are grounds for concern on the basis of the fixtures on Pompey's horizon.
But he offered some context in terms of defensive statistics which do offer some cause for optimism.
Speaking on their latest podcast, Maxwell said: 'Portsmouth are currently 19th. They've played a game fewer than everyone else.
'Eight points from their seven games - two wins, two draws, three defeats.
'I haven't really felt like Portsmouth have been very impressive this season, but that's where taking a look at some numbers can help.
'I'm surprised and impressed to see that they have the third best non-penalty xG against, so their defence process seems to be working pretty well.
'They have faced the third fewest shots, so whatever Mousinho is doing in terms of his out-of-possession approach, just objectively, is clearly working really, really well.
'For Portsmouth to be where they are in the budgetary ranking in this league and to be potentially among a top three, top six defence is really impressive.
'That suggests a pretty high floor, which is something that we've broadly been able to believe in and trust in for Portsmouth under Mousinho.
'So, I think things could start looking a bit scary away at Southampton next up, home to Sheffield United, then away at Norwich, away at Wolves. Where will they be after those four games?
'Because it wouldn't be a huge stretch to suggest that they might be on less than a point per game after 11 games - and then things would start getting difficult.
'We've been here before with Pompey, literally the last two seasons, and they've always worked through it and there's probably enough in those defensive numbers to give me some cause for hope.'