Preston North End hope to make it three wins in a row as they host Middlesbrough at Deepdale in the EFL Championship.
The Lilywhites backed up their 3-2 win against Ipswich Town with a 2-0 victory against Cardiff City in South Wales last Saturday. Emil Riis was on target and then Ben Whiteman netted in a commanding victory for PNE. Preston moved up to 10th with the win and at the time of writing are just two points off of the play-offs.
There's a renewed optimism in Lancashire based on recent results, and if a result can be secured against Boro then that would go a long way towards making for a good February. It's a possibility that if results go in their favour they could end up overtaking Coventry City who currently occupy the fourth and final play-off spot.
The games are coming thick and fast as we move into nearly three quarters of the campaign being completed. Some clubs have re-arranged fixtures to play this month but this round of fixtures has all 24 teams playing.
Earlier on in the season, Boro won 4-0 at the Riverside with Michael Carrick's side racing in to a three-goal lead inside 37 minutes. Isaih Jones scored a brace and Rav van den Berg got in on the action and then in stoppage time Alex Bangura increased the margin of victory. Preston have lost their last two games to Boro 4-0 and their last home win against them came in October 2022.
Preston's win against Cardiff was almost the perfect day but there were two slight injury concerns to worry about. Alan Browne and Brad Potts were both forced off and their status for Wednesday has been brought in to question. Here's the latest injury and team news ahead of Preston North End and Middlesbrough.
5. Duane Holmes - out
Medical ligament damage. Pulled up in the warm-up against Ipswich Town. He's expected to be out for between 7-10 days. | Getty Images Photo: Getty Images
6. Brad Potts - doubt
Made way for Ali McCann just after the 70th minute mark. | CameraSport - Ian Cook
7. Alan Browne - doubt
Had to be replaced by Ryan Ledson after suffering a slight knock. | CameraSport - Chris Vaughan Photo: CameraSport - Chris Vaughan
8. Alan Browne and Brad Potts - doubts (continued)
Ryan Lowe said on February 10: "We will get them in, recover them and see how they are. I've got belief, whoever goes in - if they can't make it, they will give a good account of themselves." | CameraSport - Andrew Kearns Photo: CameraSport - Andrew Kearns