LEICESTER’S first clean sheet in 15 games helped them to a narrow victory over their fellow strugglers.
Midfielder Paul Gallagher’s well-taken goal in the 36th minute prove to be decisive, although former centre-back Wayne Brown almost snatched a point for North End when his injury-time header drifted wide.
An entertaining opening 20 minutes produced several goalscoring opportunities but after that the clash became a somewhat lacklustre affair.
Adam Barton, in for the suspended Jon Parkin, should have given Preston the lead after just 25 seconds but curled a 12-yard effort wide.
Other chances came and went in the first 25 minutes before Gallagher received a neat pass from Japanese international Yuki Abe before finding the bottom corner with a left-footed strike from 12 yards.
Shortly before the break, Leicester keeper Chris Weale almost gifted an equaliser to Preston when he sliced a clearance to Barton, who saw his goal-bound effort blocked.
The second half was not a good advert for Championship football with not a single chance of note.
Foxes boss Sven Goran Eriksson was delighted, though, saying: “I had wondered for a long time when we would get a clean sheet and we had it today, I am very happy.”
Preston manager Darren Ferguson was left to rue his side’s missed chances in the opening and dying moments of the game. He said: “We didn’t pass the ball well enough and we weren’t crisp enough.”