Sunderland star Luke O'Nien has warned Portsmouth that if his side are on song then they will be too hot to handle on Thursday.
O'Nien's side will take a slender one-goal advantage into the second leg of the League One playoff semi-final at Fratton Park on Thursday night, with Chris Maguire’s first-leg volley separating the two sides.
At home, Sunderland produced one of their better performances of the season to see off Portsmouth's challenge, but away, in Pompey's backyard, it is expected to be a more difficult challenge.
Previewing the second leg at Fratton Park, O'Nien could not contain his excitement and claimed Portsmouth would not be able to contain the Black Cats if they take the game to the hosts on Thursday night.
Talking to Sunderland's official site, he said: "They are a good team and we have played them lots of times this season, so we know what they are about.
"We are going to have to make sure that we are on it and I am sure if we do this, they won’t be able to handle us.
"The quality that we have in our team is massive, and we have done our homework on them, but we have to focus on ourselves so that we can do our job properly and hopefully that it enough to come away with a win.
"It is our ambitions to get back to Wembley and put things right after our last game [the EFL Tropy final] and make sure we are on the end of the right result this time."
The 24-year-old has made 38 league appearances for the Black Cats this season, recording five goals and three assists.
