Both sides will be keener than usual for a victory after eight defeats in ten for Chris Wilder's Town and no win in eight for the Lancashire side after they lost a two-goal lead against York City at the weekend.
Manager David Flitcroft was upbeat afterwards, however, saying: "We'll come good. We work too hard not to."
For Wilder it is a case of keeping a settled side and trying to cut down on the number of goals that the Cobblers are conceding.
To that end he has confirmed that Matt Duke is his number one for the foreseeable future with Jordan Archer returning to Tottenham Hotspur and that Zander Diamond and Ryan Cresswell will form the first-choice central defensive partnership.
"We need a settled back four, good enough to keep clean sheets," he told BBC Radio Northampton.
"We need Cresswell, Diamond, Evan Horwood getting their games in and a solid back four."