Manager Simon Grayson says his side head to the City Ground in a positive frame of mind after another good result against a promotion contender at the weekend.
The Lilywhites kept Brighton & Hove Albion at bay to record any point and they again test their resolve against a Forest side who went two and a half months unbeaten until a recent sticky patch.
“It is typical of the Championship at times; you can have a good run and you can have some results that don’t go your way,” said the manager of their east midlands opponents. “I have watched the game from the weekend and they were the better team against Ipswich in the first half and they will have been disappointed not to get something out of that game.
“They have a very strong squad and some good players and will still have an eye on the Play-Offs and will be looking to win as many games as they can to finish as high up the table as they can.
“It’s a big football club with fantastic history and tradition and they expect big things of players and where they should be finishing.
“We go there in good spirits, looking forward to trying to get another three points.”
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The two sides met back at the beginning of November, with Eoin Doyle’s early goal enough to give North End the points on the night, although the gaffer admitted that this wasn’t necessarily the result the visitors deserved.
“That night they played very well,” he continued. “They have been one of the better sides that we have played at Deepdale. They were very quick in the attack; they moved the ball very quickly and we got a positive result when perhaps we didn’t deserve to win the game.
“That’s how it can be at times, but we know they have players who can cause you problems.
“That was the start of a good run for them, but also it started us off along the way and hopefully we can go there with the same sort of attitude, belief and quality we have shown this year, like at Wolves, be ruthless and try and get the three points and see where it takes us.”
The weekend’s goalless draw with the Seagulls was PNE’s 15th league clean sheet of the season, 16 in all competitions, and the manager feels this has been the bedrock of what they have been trying to build.
“Scoring goals is the hardest thing to do at any time. We have got defenders who want to defend and we have limited some very good players over the past few months to very few opportunities and that is what we have based our success on.
“The players have defended when they’ve had to defend and the players in front of them have kept their shape, worked hard for one another and done everything that is required to stay in a game and try and go and win you a game.
“I am pleased in that respect. We have a lot of respect for Nottingham Forest, but we will try and go there in good spirits, make sure we pass the ball well, take the game to them and make sure we are nice and solid. We need that nice combination as a right balance for getting a positive result,” he added.