The key factors Portsmouth must get right to negate difficult Tranmere playing surface

Much has been made of Prenton Park’s ongoing pitch problem, which has been a burden on Rovers’ season so far.

The Blues make the trip to Wirral aiming for a club-record ninth successive victory.

Kenny Jackett’s men could hardly be in better form, while Micky Mellon's side haven't won in League One in their past nine matches.

Yet the visit to Tranmere will prove a challenge for Pompey and adapting to the difficult conditions will be key.

Here are the key factors the Blues must get right if they're to deliver a success and continue their hurtling promotion charge...

Set-pieces

It's something Pompey have thrived at recently.

Since the turn of the year, the Blues have scored 18 goals in nine matches. Impressively, 10 of those have arrived via set-pieces.

After struggling to make the most of dead-ball situations during the first half of the campaign, Pompey have significantly upped their threat.

Steve Seddon’s left-footed delivery since joining from Birmingham has been the catalyst, while Ronan Curtis’ wicked balls into the area yielded both Christian Burgess and James Bolton’s finishes in Saturday's 2-0 win over Sunderland.

Goalscoring opportunities from open play could be difficult to conjure because of the heavy surface, which will make corners and free-kicks even more important.

Sticking to the game-plan

Kenny Jackett and his backroom team will have been carrying out their due diligence almost immediately after the Black Cats triumph.

Hours of footage will be surveyed as the boss comes up with the blueprint to beat Micky Mellon's men.

And sticking to that game-plan will be crucial. Prenton Park will host its third game in eight days, leaving the surface with little time to recover during that period.

Ipswich, Sunderland and most recently Doncaster had to stay patient in search of a breakthrough, with all three promotion-chasing sides not scoring until midway through the second half.

Should the goals not come early, the Blues need to keep probing and believe their rewards will come.

Wearing the correct footwear

It might sound the obvious, but it’s something that will be addressed this week.

Ahead of Pompey’s FA Cup third-round trip to Harrogate in November, Kenny Jackett emphasised his players wearing the correct footwear on the 3G pitch at Wetherby Road.

It was rubber moulds he encouraged the Blues to don against their non-league hosts, with the visitors running out 2-1 winners.

Now Pompey prepare for a completely different challenge at Prenton Park on a pitch that resembles something you’d expect at a Sunday league game.

This time Jackett will likely be telling his troops to brand traditional metal-studded boots so they can get a decent foothold in the mud.

Nullifying Tranmere's nous

While they’ve been in woeful recent form, Rovers will have a fairly clear idea of how to make the most of the conditions and try to use it to their advantage.

Having played a 3-4-3 formation in their past four league games, it suggests they’ll target getting ball wide and avoid the bare patches in the middle of the park.

Former Pompey loanee James Vaughan will look to make a nuisance of himself should he start, having joined Tranmere from Bradford during the January transfer window.

The striker relishes a physical battle and will likely try to impose himself on the Blues’ back four.