Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa spoke very highly of the Lilywhites ahead of his second clash with Alex Neil's side in the space of a month.
At his pre-match press conference for Tuesday night's clash at Elland Road the league-leading boss of the Whites said that the current position North End find themselves in is not a reflection of the way they have played.
"They are a special team," he told the gathered media. "Preston's players have the skills to move the ball.
"It's a mix between skills and aggression and it's an attractive mix. They have a position in the table they do not deserve."
On his own team, the Argentine gaffer feels his side are improving, but does not believe enough time has passed to judge whether they are promotion favourites just yet.
"I see that we are getting stronger in each game," he continued. "It's not convenient to talk about the final position when we've just played seven games. It's too early to make conclusions, football is a game where you have many surprises.
"From my point of view, I can't talk in the name of everyone, it's not a pressure but it's not something I take as a positive. In each game we have an obligation to win. When you have good performances, people expect things from you.
"I don't think the position in the table creates pressure or makes it easier for us.
"Any conclusion you draw now would not be solid. Football is a game of surprises. If you take the last games for all the teams and look at the results, it's very hard to draw conclusions.
"We think that when we make early conclusions we have a lot of knowledge but you can't anticipate results in football. The day when you can anticipate football, it will not be so attractive."
Going into the game with North End, the hosts have drawn their last two games, as well as losing a number of players through injury, but is still confidence his side will return to winning ways.
"It's not a good habit to stop winning. Our aspiration is to win the games. No matter what results came before, to win is a necessity.
"We are facing this problem [injuries] just now, but all teams will have to play games without the presence of important players. Maybe it will be in a different period but it will happen.
"I always have the feeling of confidence. It doesn't matter who we play against, I always believe we will win."