YORK City will visit Portsmouth hoping to become the first club to score at Fratton Park in five games.

The 2008 FA Cup final winners have kept clean sheets in their last four home matches and only conceded twice during the last eight fixtures on their own soil.

But, despite their miserly defence in front of their own fans, Richie Barker’s men are still struggling for victories, having failed to win any of their last four games with last weekend’s 3-1 defeat at Fleetwood preceded by a hat-trick of consecutive 0-0 draws.

In fact, since Boxing Day, the pre-season title favourites have won just three of their 15 fixtures, beating fellow strugglers Wycombe, Wimbledon and Accrington.

That run has seen the south-coast club slip to fourth bottom in the Sky Bet League Two standings, just four points above the relegation zone.

A record of nine league wins also represents the joint-lowest tally in this season's table, along with Bury and bottom two Northampton and Torquay.

David Connolly, who left for Oxford in January, remains the club’s joint-top scorer on just five goals with Patrick Agyemang and Jed Wallace, who netted for the first time in 25 games with an excellent solo effort at Fleetwood.

The highly-rated, 20-year-old midfielder, who has attracted Premier League interest this season, scored after being hailed from the bench and is expected to be recalled to the starting XI tomorrow, although he is in danger of incurring a two-match suspension if he is shown another yellow card before and including the second weekend in April.

Ex-QPR and Stevenage striker Agyemang, who is without a goal in 18 outings, is likely to remain a substitute with 6ft 3in target man Jake Jervis and ex-Bristol City forward Ryan Taylor due to be preferred in attack.

On-loan Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Rhys McCabe is also expected to make his debut but three players will be sidelined and another two remain doubtful.

Striker Tom Craddock (knee), right-back Danny East (ankle) and midfielder Simon Ferry (back) are all ruled out, while left-winger Andy Barcham (thigh) and midfielder Romain Padovani (calf) only have outside chances of featuring.

Club captain Johnny Ertl and French defender Yassin Moutaouakil, meanwhile, are both currently out of favour under Barker, but former Reading left-back Nicky Shorey, who won two England caps under Steve McClaren in 2007, is expected to line up at left back.

Portsmouth (probable): Carson, Alfei, Chorley, Devera, Shorey, Wallace, McCabe, Diagouraga, Holmes, Jervis, Taylor.