Pompey trio set for action

Portsmouth midfielders Eyal Berkovic, Steve Stone and Nigel Quashie are recovering well from the injuries which kept them out of the midweek Carling Cup win at Tranmere and are in line to face Everton at Fratton Park on Sunday.

Skipper Arjan de Zeeuw faces six weeks on the sidelines with ankle ligament trouble but manager Harry Redknapp’s biggest selection dilemmas are up front and in midfield where he ponders fitting in new signings Diomansay Kamara and Valery Mezague after their impressive debuts at Tranmere.

Ricardo Fuller and Aiyegbeni Yakubu have proved a strong combination in attack and Amdy Faye has returned ahead of schedule from a knee injury in midfield, allowing Redknapp to release England Under-21 international Gary O’Neil on loan to Cardiff and defender Richard Duffy to Burnley.

Provisional squad: Hislop, Griffin, Primus, Stefanovic, Unsworth, Stone, Quashie, Hughes, Berger, Lua Lua, Faye, Yakubu, Fuller, Kamara, Mezague, Cisse, Curtis, Taylor, Ashdown.