Portsmouth forward Ronan Curtis has warned his Sunderland his side are looking to make it three victories in a row at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
The two sides faced each other five times last season, with the Black Cats coming out on top in the two-legged play-off semi-final, but losing the EFL Trophy final at Wembley.
But while this campaign has only just got under way, Saturday's clash on Wearside will be another tough examination of Jack Ross' side's promotion credentials.
Their opening games have seen two 1-1 draws - at home to Oxford and at Ipswich - with the first-half display at Portman Road raising some serious questions over formation.
However, an improved second-half performance brought a deserved point, with Accrington Stanley in the Carabao Cup to come on Tuesday night.
For their part, Portsmouth have bounced back from an opening-day defeat to Shrewsbury with a midweek 3-0 success over Birmingham in the Carabao Cup , followed by Saturday's 2-0 victory over Tranmere at Fratton Park.
Repbublic of Ireland winger Curts played in all three and, while he knows what Sunderland can do on their day, is confident of making it three wins on the bounce at the weekend.
“We knew what we had to do to bounce back from the previous Saturday at Shrewsbury and that’s two clean sheets in a row now," the 23-year-old told www.portsmouthfc.co.uk
“Hopefully we can keep the winning run going and see how far we can go – we want to keep picking up three points.
“We played against Sunderland on quite a few occasions last season and certainly know what they’re capable of.
“But we also know just what we’re capable of and the plan for us is to go there and get another victory.
“I’m enjoying my football at the moment. I’ve been in this league for a year now and thought I did well last season, so hopefully this one will bring even more.”
