Portsmouth v MK Dons preview

Team news for Tuesday's League One clash between Portsmouth and MK Dons at Fratton Park.

Portsmouth will be without Sam Sodje. The defender was sent off for violent conduct during Saturday's 1-0 defeat by Oldham and starts a three-match ban, so Ricardo Rocha is in line for a recall alongside Gabor Gyepes at centre-half. Full-back Shaun Cooper will miss out again with a hip knock but striker David Connolly could return to the starting line-up. The veteran Irishman had missed the previous four matches with a hamstring injury but returned as a late substitute at the weekend. Simon Eastwood is expected to keep his place in goal despite being at fault for Jose Baxter's strike which saw Pompey slip to another defeat that leaves them four points adrift at the bottom. Goalkeeper David Martin and centre-half Gary MacKenzie are injury doubts for MK Dons. Both players were forced off with injuries during the 1-1 draw at Carlisle on Saturday. Dons boss Karl Robinson said: "It's the story of our season. David Martin was a big miss to us, and to lose Gary MacKenzie at the end was a big loss to us too. "But we have to keep looking forward and keep positive. I have to patch the team together, but I can only work with the players I have available. We're still a long way from putting our best team on the pitch. "We didn't have a fit winger on Saturday - Daniel Powell wasn't really fit enough but we threw him on to make a difference in the last 20 minutes. It's difficult when you can't make subs that can make a difference." Should Martin miss out, 21-year-old Ian McLoughlin will make his first league start of the season for the Dons. Former Pompey striker Izale McLeod will battle it out with Ryan Lowe for a place in attack while fellow striker Alan Smith serves the second game of his four-match suspension. Winger Dean Bowditch (groin) and long-term absentee Stephen Gleeson (broken foot) remain unavailable.