Four league victories in February mean PNE, promoted last season, are looking up instead of down and they are five places and seven points above Nottingham Forest after the weekend draw against promotion-chasing Brighton & Hove Albion.
Like the Reds, Preston have been solid defensively for much of the campaign and their games on the road have generally been cautious affairs with 16 goals scored and 17 conceded in 17 matches.
The return fixture at Deepdale at the beginning of November was a hard-fought clash, settled by an early goal by Eoin Doyle for the home side.
That game came during a run of matches where Forest struggled to find the back of the net and capped an eight-game run without a win for Dougie Freedman's side which was broken by a surprise success against Derby County next tiime out.
The Reds go into Tuesday evening's clash in need of a similar boost after four successive defeats but they will find PNE tough opponents to break down.