With their place in the Championship playoffs confirmed, Huddersfield Town travel to Coventry City on the penultimate weekend of the regular campaign.
The Terriers are currently fourth in the table and are ending the season strongly, while the Sky Blues' own playoff hopes are over and they sit 10th.
Match preview
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A 2-1 win over Barnsley last Friday assured Huddersfield's place in the top six – an incredibly impressive feat given that they only survived relegation by six points last season.
Victory on Saturday would secure home advantage in the playoff semi-final second leg, while they do still have an outside chance of automatic promotion as they trail second-placed Bournemouth – who have a game in hand – by just three points.
Carlos Corberan's side have lost just two of their last 24 matches in the Championship and have taken 13 points from the last 15 available.
However, the Terriers have not won any of their past four away trips to Coventry since December 1965.
The last three meetings between the two sides have ended level, with Matt Godden scoring a 93rd-minute equaliser for the Sky Blues in a 1-1 draw earlier this season.
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Mark Robins's side drew 0-0 with Midlands neighbours West Bromwich Albion last weekend, a result which ended both clubs' playoff chances with two games to play.
Coventry, who spent the majority of the first half of the campaign in the top six, are six points behind sixth-placed Sheffield United with an inferior goal difference.
The Sky Blues only have themselves to blame as they have earned just three victories from their last 12 matches and are winless in their last three games on home turf.
Nonetheless, they could secure a top-half finish this weekend which would still be an admirable achievement two years after promotion from League One.
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Team News
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Coventry midfielder Gustavo Hamer was forced off with an injury issue against West Brom last weekend, but should be fine to feature in this game.
With Jake Clarke-Salter and Josh Eccles returning to the matchday squad against Albion, the Sky Blues' only absentees are Matt Godden, Fankaty Dabo and Jodi Jones.
Backup goalkeeper Ben Wilson was brought into the starting lineup at The Hawthorns and saved a 96th-minute penalty, so should keep his place.
Levi Colwill and Danny Ward have been back in training for Huddersfield this week following their respective injuries, so could be involved on Saturday.
Daniel Sinani was taken off at half time against Barnsley last week with an injury issue and is unlikely to be rushed back with the playoffs in Carlos Corberan's mind.
Matty Pearson and Sorba Thomas are expected to still be out, but Rolando Aarons could be handed an opportunity after scoring for the Terriers' B team on Tuesday.
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Wilson; Rose, Hyam, McFadzean; Kane, Sheaf, Kelly, Allen, Maatsen; O'Hare, Gyokeres
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Pipa, Turton, Sarr, Lees, Toffolo; Holmes, Hogg, Russell, O'Brien; Rhodes
We say: Coventry City 0-1 Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield are unlikely to take their foot off the gas as they aim to carry momentum into the playoffs and we think that the Terriers will earn all three points against a Coventry side who now have nothing left to play for and could be on the beach.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Coventry City win with a probability of 43.86%. A win for Huddersfield Town had a probability of 30.05% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Coventry City win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.79%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.96%) and 2-0 (7.8%). The likeliest Huddersfield Town win was 0-1 (8.59%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.4%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that Huddersfield Town would win this match.
