Ferguson talks up Nolan's Cobblers ahead of derby day showdown

Posh have turned their form around in recent weeks, losing just one of their last nine and winning three in four, including a dramatic 4-3 victory at Crawley in midweek, to move well away from trouble at the bottom of League One.

By contrast, Cobblers remain very much embroiled in a relegation scrap having won just one of their last eight league games. They also have a terrible recent record at London Road, failing to win a league game on the ground since 2006, losing the last six including a 5-1 beating just 12 months ago.

"There’s always high motivation for this game because it’s a derby,” said Ferguson. “But there is more motivation because we both need points for the same reason. We want to keep our foot down and get clear of the relegation zone as you could need a high number of points to stay up this season.

"I’d expect a team managed by Kevin Nolan to be competitive and they are. I’d also expect a Kevin Nolan team to be well organised and they are. I have seen some of their recent games and they have been competitive and very hard to play against. They get the ball into the penalty area so we will have to be very good defensively, while also playing well when we have the ball.

"They have won at Orient and drawn with Birmingham since Kevin went there. They were much better than Birmingham in the first 45 minutes as well so we can expect a very tough game. We know what’s coming, but as always it will be about how well we play and we are a confident team right now.”

Posh will likely name an unchanged team from the one that beat Crawley in stoppage-time on Tuesday, providing central defender Sam Hughes passes a late fitness test. Jadel Kantongo and Manny Fernandez will come in if Hughes misses out.

“In the last two games we have let six goals in which isn’t good enough so that has to improve,” Ferguson added. “But we were ruthless in front of goal which hasn’t always been the case.

"A run of games in the side has clearly helped Abraham Odoh. He is a great kid, who wants to learn, and it was pleasing to see him hit a hat-trick at Crawley straight after missing a big chance at Reading. He was outstanding on Tuesday as he also won the late penalty which won us the game. He and Cian Hayes have just got stronger as the season has worn on.

“In fact we look strong physically. We are finishing games really well. Our second-half performance at Crawley was poor until the final 10 minutes or so when we looked fresh and fit and started to dominate the game.”