The past few weeks have been pretty turbulent for Everton, although the positives by far outweigh the negatives. The impressive run of results, which included the win over Chelsea among others, saw the Toffees climb to ninth place in the Premiership

Having finished last season in 5th place, Everton were expected to build on that result this term and maybe even enter the top 4 race but the Toffees kept underachieving and they even struggled to escape the danger zone. Selection problems were nothing

Everton defender Phil Jagielka has a second knee operation and will be out of action until after Christmas.

Both teams recorded convincing wins in the Carling Cup games but they are now fully focused on the Premiership as they are eager to make amends for the poor start of the league campaign. Portsmouth desperately need three points having lost all six games so far, whereas Everton are aiming to continue the winning run and start climbing the table.