Huddersfield Town host Preston North End in Championship action this Saturday, hoping for a win to boost their survival hopes.
The Terriers are currently two points ahead of Stoke City in 22nd, and they will be hoping to back up an impressive 3-0 win over Birmingham City in midweek when Alex Neil's side visit the John Smith's Stadium at the weekend.
Preston, meanwhile, are in a battle of their own. They are currently four points and three places away from the Championship play-off spots, but are in a bit of a rut, and a loss here could see their hopes of a top six finish fade.
Form
Huddersfield are well in the relegation battle but a convincing 3-0 win at Birmingham on Wednesday will give them a new found confidence ahead of the visit of Preston. That win came after two losses after the break, and another victory on Saturday would do the Terriers’ survival hopes a world of good.
Preston have been in free fall of late. They’ve won just one of their last eight league games, and have picked up only one point from three games since football returned. The Lilywhites have lost their last two as well, against Cardiff City and Derby County.
Team news
Juninho Bacuna will miss Saturday’s game through suspension for Huddersfield, whilst defenders Jaden Brown and Tommy Elphick remain sidelined with injuries.
Preston defender Paul Huntington, meanwhile, will sit out the game after picking up a three-game suspension for violent conduct following a clash with Louie Sibley in North End’s previous game against Derby.
Midfielder Daniel Johnson, who missed the loss against Derby through injury, could return, although Louis Moult will likely remain unavailable for the rest of this campaign.
Previous clashes
Preston were victorious in the reverse fixture back in November, beating their opponents 3-1 thanks to goals from Jayden Stockley, Alan Browne and Paul Gallagher.
It is Huddersfield, though, that lead the way in terms of history between the two clubs, winning 36 of the previous 92 clashes. Preston have won 34, whilst there have also been 22 draws.
Key players
Town forward Karlan Ahearne-Grant will be chomping at the bit to get back out on the pitch after netting again against Birmingham and the game before at Nottingham Forest. The 22-year-old has scored 18 goals so far this season, and sits fourth in the league’s top scorer charts.
The former Charlton man, along with Frazier Campbell up top, will be a threat.
The potential return of Johnson will be huge for Preston. The midfielder has scored 12 goals so far this season, and the Lilywhites missed him massively against Derby.
What the managers have said
Huddersfield boss Danny Cowley told the club website: “When you are in a difficult moment, you learn a lot about yourselves. It is easy to stand tall when things are going well, but it is much more difficult to do that in adversity and we did that [against Birmingham].
“We have now got six very important matches, it’s very tight at the bottom of the league and everyone at the bottom is winning which often happens in leagues when you get to this time in the season.
“We are not getting ahead of ourselves. We know that there is a lot of hard work still to be done.”
Preston manager Alex Neil, meanwhile, speaking to the club’s website, said: “I am sure they [Huddersfield] will be heartened by the win they got at Birmingham, and it was a thoroughly deserved three points.
“There is no question how good a squad Huddersfield have got. We signed Alex [Pritchard] at Norwich and then he moved for even more money to Huddersfield, so they have some talented players.”