A quirk of the fixture list means this is the reverse of Town's trip to Roots Hall at the end of November when goalkeeper Jordan Archer's sending-off was the turning point in a hard-fought contest.
Barry Corr netted the resulting penalty before David Worrall made the game safe for the home side who have won one, drawn two and lost one of the four games they have played since.
Defender Cian Bolger will miss the trip to Sixfields after being dismissed against Dagenham & Redbridge on Sunday afternoon.
Northampton, of course, have failed to pick up a single point since losing by the seaside and manager Chris Wilder knows he is under pressure as he approaches the first anniversary of his time in charge.
Speaking after defeat at Tranmere on Sunday he said: "I've never had a dismissal on my CV, I don't want that. Some managers will say it will always happen and some will say that the only way they make money is by getting paid up.
"I don't want that on me and I'm fighting tooth and nail to treat the players the right way and get the right formation and team selection out of them that will get us results."