Pompey fans are being advised to set off earlier for Saturday’s Championship game at Burnley

Up to 2,000 members of the Fratton faithful are expected to follow Pompey on their second-longest away trip of the season on Saturday.

Another early alarm call will be required as the Blues make the 280-mile trip to Burnley’s Turf Moor in the hope of continuing an impressive run of form that has John Mousinho’s side currently challenging for a place in the end-of-season play-offs.

Yet those alarm clocks might need to be set just a tad earlier if the fans are to make it to Lancashire in plenty of time for the scheduled 3pm kick-off.

That’s because the M42 will be completely closed between junctions 6 (Solihull/A45) and 9 (Coleshill/A446) northbound from 9pm on Friday, October 30, until 5am on Monday, November 2, affecting routes to the M6 and M6 Toll.

And to make matters worse, the return journey will be far from a doddle either. Indeed junctions 9-7 (M6 Interchange) will be closed for southbound traffic for the same length of time as essential HS2 engineering works are carried out.

A fully signed diversion route will be in place for the duration of the closure.

However, the closures are anticipated to cause severe bottlenecks and heavy congestion on the surrounding local diversions around Birmingham and drivers are advised to allow extra time for their journeys.

To avoid getting trapped in the Birmingham gridlock on the way to Burnley, Pompey fans are advised to head towards the M25 before travelling northwards on the M1 all the way past the East Midlands.

They can then cut across via the M62 or A50 to reach the M6/M65 towards Burnley.

Alternatively, if you still prefer to travel up via the A34 and M40, do not head towards the the M42 at Birmingham.

Instead, exit early to take the A46 towards Coventry or use the M42 southbound to the M5 northbound, where you will loop around the west side of Birmingham to join the M6 northbound at Junction 8 (West Bromich).

There are still Pompey tickets available for the game v Burnley at Turf Moor.

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