Excitement is palpable but pressure is off Pompey

A first league meeting for 13 years, and the closest the two clubs have been in a league sense since 2005. No wonder then the build-up and buzz this week has been palpable for those that bleed Pompey blue.

This highly-anticipated fixture once on the horizon, now very much around the corner, needs little talking up for the two fanbases involved.

Externally, it may appear a localised dispute that has laid dormant for many years. Internally, it means absolutely everything.

From a Pompey perspective, as unbelievably huge as this game is, and with no excuses made, I feel collectively as a fanbase we head into it knowing the pressure is certainly not on us.

On paper, our opponents beat us nine times out of 10, squad values in terms of reported figures are almost incomparable, and while Pompey have rebuilt for the best part of a decade in the bottom two tiers of English football, Southampton have had a relatively settled stay in the top-flight up until last season.

I doubt I will sleep much on Saturday night, but when Sunday morning rolls round and the hideously early alarm goes, all it will be is excitement from then on in.

I turn 22 a week after this fixture, so I have very little recollection of some of Pompey's previous success away at our fiercest rivals.

Not only does the last cup meeting fester in the minds of Pompey fans, it's felt like a horribly long time since David Norris Day and that generational moment characterised by one strike of the ball from the man who used to be a waiter.

My expectation is a team of Pompey players who will fight for absolutely everything on the pitch - and a fanbase doing the same from the away end.

After 13 years, the wait is very nearly over.

Tom can be found on his YouTube channel Fournilwrittenalloverit