Blackburn Rovers winger Morten Gamst Pedersen plans to gear up for the new season by shooting down Brazil in Oslo tonight.

The Norwegian is on international duty tonight, just three days before the Premiership kicks off this weekend.

But while Rovers boss Mark Hughes has been critical of the decision to schedule international friendlies so close to the start of the new season, Pedersen sees the game against the Brazilians as the perfect chance to improve his sharpness before Saturday's trip to Pompey.

"You can look at these friendly games both ways, to be honest, but I prefer to take the positives out of it," said Pedersen.

"Say I play 45 minutes or an hour then it will be good to get the match fitness in, and I'll be 100 per cent prepared for Saturday's game against Portsmouth then."

He added: "It's a good chance to test ourselves before we go into the qualifiers for the European Championships.

"To play Brazil and then start the Premiership season against Portsmouth on Saturday means it's a big week for me, but it should be fun."