Bolton Wanderers Manager Phil Parkinson is looking for his side to enjoy their international break with his side in the top echelons of the SkyBet Championship.
The Trotters arrive at Deepdale in third spot in the table and their gaffer thinks it is a match his side can look forward to with confirdence.
“I think it is a great game to play in,” he told iFollow BWFC. “Local derbies are terrific. There will be a great crowd there. I remember the game last year; in the first half they were the better the team, but in the second half we grew into the game and probably should have won it.
“It was a very full on, competitive game, certainly in the first 25 to 30 minutes and we have to be ready for that competitive element.
“This is a great opportunity for us because we sit third, five games in and this is the end of a block of games and after this we have a two week gap and this is a great chance to get a result and sit back and look at ourselves in the top part of this division.”
It has been a positive start to the season for Bolton and the Chorley-born boss says that his side are a better proposition than the one that returned to the Championship last season.
“We have worked very hard as a group to get this start,” he continued. This squad is better than it was last year, there is a competition for places; there are good characters in the building.
“Our job now is to go and play as we did at West Brom and at Reading, which is first and foremost to show outright commitment, good quality added to that and if we do that, we have a good chance to get the points.”