PNE catch Johnson's eye

The clash is significant at both ends of the table, with PNE needing victory to stay in the play-off hunt while Johnson’s men are just above the relegation zone.

“Preston have a good balance of experienced and young players,” said Johnson.

“They have been one of the success stories of this season.”

The Robins come to North End on the back of Saturday’s 2-0 away loss to Brentford.

Before that, they had gone four matches unbeaten, including a 4-0 thumping of play-off chasing Huddersfield.

The Brentford defeat was a big frustration for Johnson.

He said: “Just when I thought we’d cracked it and turned the corner, it’s back to the drawing board.

“That’s what makes me angry and frustrated – I just didn’t see that first half coming.

“We came into the game on the back of a four-match unbeaten run, in which we’d taken eight points, and 10 days of really good training and preparation.

“The players were full of confidence after beating Huddersfield 4-0 and they should have been able to implement the game-plan.

“There were five or six players who we so poor that I could leave them out of the next game.”