Albion have drafted in goalkeeper Ben Roberts from Charlton as cover for the injured Michel Kuipers.

Roberts is joining the Seagulls on a month's loan and goes straight into the side against leaders Portsmouth at Withdean tomorrow.

Kuipers tore the kicking muscle in his right thigh in Tuesday's FA Cup exit at Norwich.

The big Dutchman will be out of action for six to eight weeks, so Roberts' stay is likely to be extended if he does well.

Boss Steve Coppell said: "He is one of three goalkeepers at Charlton and at the moment nearly all the Premiership clubs are very protective about their goalkeepers.

"I have seen him play a number of times, although I certainly haven't seen him play recently. I spoke with Mervyn Day (Charlton coach) and he says Ben is in good form.

"It's a little bit of a chance and it will certainly be a testing start for him, but he is looking forward to the challenge."

Roberts, 27, made an FA Cup final appearance against Chelsea during eight seasons with Middlesbrough.

The former England under-21 international had a loan spell with Reading last season.

The last of his six appearances for them was in a 3-1 defeat against Albion at Withdean 11 months ago.

On-loan Arsenal striker Graham Barrett will think about a permanent move to Preston over the weekend after talks yesterday with their manager Craig Brown.

He was set to train with Albion today and is available to face Portsmouth.

Coppell is happy for Albion to be underdogs tomorrow against Harry Redknapp's star-studded pacesetters.

"I think we've changed our name to Brighton 9-2, because we are 9-2 to get a victory in almost every game," he joked.

"I am sure we will be at least that in this one and that is a good position to be in.

"I've got great respect for what Harry has done there, transforming the team with a lot of players coming in. It shows what can be done in a short period of time.

"I felt last summer with ITV Digital going bust it was a great time for somebody to speculate to accumulate and spend money not in the transfer market but on wages.

"There were players available on sizeable wages in First Division terms but not costing a lot in fees. I think Harry is the accepted master of that form of trade.

"He's done amazingly well with the money available to him and created a team that, although stuttering a little bit at the moment, are still a quality side.

"We will have to be at our best to beat them, but that's our target. We have played well in recent games. If we maintain the standard of football we are playing I'm convinced it's a matter of time before we get the right results."

Rib injury victim Paul Kitson resumed light training yesterday and is likely to return to the squad.

Yakubu Ayegbeni makes his debut up front for Portsmouth while Jason Crowe comes in for the injured Gianluca Festa.

Full preview ahead of tomorrow's South Coast derby at thisisthealbion.co.uk