Whether or not you refer to it as the 'Battle of the Ports' or the 'Dockyard Derby' Plymouth Argyle will be aiming to get their League One promotion bid back on track against Portsmouth.
Their 1-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, who are managed, of course, by former Torquay United defender Darren Moore, saw the Pilgrims surrender top spot in the division to the Owls. However, Argyle still lead third placed Ipswich Town by six points having played the same number of games.
It will be a challenge that the Pilgrims will head into without their highly rated young goalkeeper Michael Cooper, who sustained a torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) which will keep him out of action for the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign. In his place will be his understudy Callum Burton as he looks to add to the ten appearances that he has made for Argyle so far this season.
For Burton there might be a sense of de ja vu about his new opportunity with the Pilgrims; whilst at Cambridge United he spent the majority of the 2020-21 season as understudy to Dimitar Mitov before an injury to Mitov saw him make 26 appearances for the U's - as they ended the campaign as runners-up - after only playing in cup ties previously.
Also, losing your first choice keeper during a promotion is nothing new for Argyle. Romain Larrieu experienced the same injury as Cooper in the 2003-04 campaign after making only six appearances, Luke McCormick, then a promising young 20-year old, stepped into the breach and appeared 40 times as the Pilgrims won the Division Two title.
The opportunity is there for Burton and the Pilgrims' class of 2022-23 to emulate that glory of almost two decades ago.
