Preston boss Alex Neil hopes his side will be mentally ready for the test posed by Charlton after a tough week.

The Lilywhites sit second in the Sky Bet Championship table after a last-gasp win over Blackburn having been 2-0 down early on.

And the previous week they conceded a late goal to draw with Leeds after suffering a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Reading.

Neil told Preston's official website: "It was a tough week – mentally as much as anything else.

"We had the disappointment at Reading, then we conceded late against Leeds – which was frustrating – albeit I am not suggesting we should have won the game, a draw was probably the fair result; and then we had the exploits of the first half and the euphoria of the second half at the weekend.

"It has been a week that has basically summed up football. The highs, the lows, going from tragedy to euphoria in the same game.

"That is why we love it so much, because we don't know what is around the corner and all we can do is prep and plan as well as we can and make sure the lads are mentally and physically in the best shape to give them the best chance to go and do well."

Charlton boss Lee Bowyer is expecting a tough battle at The Valley.

He told the club's official website: "They're a good side. The manager has done a good job there and he's made sure that they have become a good Championship side. They're sitting in second and deservedly so. Every point in this division, you have to earn.

"They score a lot of goals and they've got players that can hurt you in different areas. They're good defensively and they're good in possession."