The Blues have played six warm-up games to date, with head coach John Mousinho using the opportunity to get as many minutes as possible into the legs of his players.
That’s meant different starting XIs being utilised for matches and major changes being made mid-game as preparations gather pace for day one of their latest league campaign.
But with just one pre-season friendly left, the focus will surely be on fine-tuning those plans and reinforcing combinations so that this new-look Blues side is firing on all cylinders by the time the Gas arrive on the south coast.
You suspect Mousinho will initially go strong, especially with the game being played at Fratton Park in front of expecting fans buoyed by the Blues transfer business this summer and the need to fully understand where his side are after games against non-league and League Two sides.
But what does that look like exactly? Well, here’s how we think Pompey could start Saturday’s game against Bristol City, with the temptation to rotate and try different things put to one side for the first half at least.
9. Central midfield 3 - Tom Lowery
Who fills the third slot in Pompey's midfield is perhaps the biggest conundrum facing John Mousinho at this stage of the summer. Lowery is currently in the driving seat as he continued his decent pre-season form at Plough Lane and should continue his progress against Bristol City. However, Terry Devlin should not be discounted, while Mousinho has options in Abu Kamara, Gavin Whyte and Kusini Yengi if he wants to deploy two holding midfielders alongside a more attacking No10. Photo: Jason Brown
10. Right-wing - Gavin Whyte
Whyte has started the past two pre-season games as his integration into the team continues. Abu Kamara was played wide right at the Dons, before swapping roles with the Northern Irishman who started the game in the No10 role. An intriguing battle awaits in this department but Whyte is likely to start against both City and then Rovers given his Championship pedigree and Mousinho's long pursuit of him over the summer. Photo: Jason Brown
11. Centre-forward - Colby Bishop
Pompey's 24-goal top scorer from last season has had a stop-start pre-season in terms of game time. He needs to get up to speed quickly and should start against City just so that he can get 60 minutes at least into his legs. Sat out the AFC Wimbledon defeat because of fatigue but witnessed replacement Christian Saydee produce a man-of-the-match display. Photo: Jason Brown
12. Left wing - Anthony Scully
The left-wing position often provided Pompey with a headache last season, with no-one capable of claiming it as their own. Scully is the type of signing who you would expect to do just that so will want to start the Blues' one and only Fratton Park pre-season friendly before the 2023-24 campaign begins. Will be keen to put a below-par performance against Wimbledon behind him, too. Photo: Jason Brown