Damaging weekend defeats saw both the Brewers and the Cobblers slip closer to the relegation zone as a resurgent Barnet won 4-1 at the Pirelli Stadium to crank up the pressure on those sides above them.
Now Northampton travel to the same venue still searching for a first victory under Gary Johnson and desperate to take advantage of the game in hand they have over the Bees.
For Paul Peschisolido's Burton, games in hand were always expected to be their safety net after weather problems and an FA Cup run saw them slip down the table.
They have failed to make the most of those games however and the alarm bells really started to ring on Saturday as Steve Kabba's four-goal haul sank the home side.