Huddersfield Town will look to take their unbeaten run to five matches on Tuesday, when they welcome Preston North End to the John Smith's Stadium.
Despite their slight upturn in form, the hosts now only lead the bottom three in the Championship table by two points, while their hosts have dropped to ninth spot in the midst of a slump.
Match preview
© Reuters
Despite enjoying a positive run since their return to action from the November international break, Huddersfield Town head into the midweek round of Championship games in a precarious position in the fight at the bottom end of England's second tier.
Starting the season under the management of Neil Warnock before Darren Moore took over in September, the Terriers went into the break with just 15 points on the board from their first 16 matches, having only won three of those while suffering seven defeats.
They appear to have kicked on since returning, though, having now gone four league games unbeaten, firstly drawing 1-1 with promotion-chasing Southampton, thanks to Ben Jackson's late leveller, before putting a fourth three-point haul of the season on the board in an impressive 2-1 triumph away at Sunderland as Michal Helik and Delano Burgzorg netted their goals either side of Luke O'Nien's leveller.
The Terriers have since settled for draws in each of their last two outings, despite going ahead in both, as they were firstly pegged back in a 1-1 draw away at Swansea City by Charlie Patino's 94th-minute goal, having led throughout the entirety of the contest, before going ahead against Bristol City through Burgzorg on Saturday, only to have to share the points as Tommy Conway levelled the game early in the second half.
While left disappointed having surrendered leads in their last two outings, Huddersfield Town can certainly still be proud of their recent progress under Moore, but with their lead over the drop zone now cut to just two points, given their fellow strugglers' improvements, they will know they cannot afford to let up and will look to make it five games unbeaten and return to winning ways on home turf on Tuesday.
© Reuters
They meet a Preston North End side who are fighting to end what has been an eye-catching dip in their own form, having dropped down to ninth spot after enjoying a fine start to the season under Ryan Lowe.
After earning 19 points from their first seven Championship outings, taking top spot as a result, the Lilywhites have added just two further notches to their wins column in the last 13 attempts since mid-September, firstly enduring a seven-match winless run immediately after a streak of six straight triumphs.
Their only two wins since then came consecutively over Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers prior to the November international break, but they have not been able to pick up where they left off on their return, managing just one more point from the last four matches as they firstly fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Cardiff City before suffering a 4-0 thrashing away at Middlesbrough as Isaiah Jones netted a brace alongside goals from Rav van den Berg and Alex Bangura.
A meeting with 22nd-placed Queens Park Rangers at Deepdale then followed, and the Lancashire outfit again came away empty-handed, as Paul Smyth and Chris Willock scored in a 2-0 away win, before Lowe's men most recently travelled to take on Norwich City at the weekend and took a share of the spoils as the contest ended in a goalless stalemate.
While they have now dropped to ninth spot, having failed to score in any of their last three matches, Preston North End do remain just a single point outside of the top six, and with the chance to move back into the playoff places if they can return to their best, Lowe's men will be desperate to reverse their fortunes and get back to winning ways on Tuesday.
Team News
© Reuters
Darren Moore may opt to field an unchanged starting XI on Tuesday from Saturday's draw with Bristol City, as Oliver Turton, Jack Rudoni, Josh Ruffels, Kian Harratt and Kyle Hudlin are all set to remain out of action through injuries.
They will, however, be boosted by the return of Sorba Thomas, who served a suspension at the weekend, and he will hope to return from the start in a wing role, although the Terriers could instead stick with a front two of Danny Ward and Delano Burgzorg, who netted his fourth goal of the season in the Bristol City contest.
In the absence of key man Rudoni, David Kasumu should again join Ben Wiles and Jonathan Hogg in the midfield, while Matty Pearson, Michal Helik and Tom Lees are bound to line up in an unaltered back three in front of stopper Chris Maxwell, who has got the nod over Lee Nicholls in the last four matches, conceding just four goals along the way.
Preston North End will likely remain without forward Milutin Osmajic due to an injury, while Emil Riis Jakobsen also remains confined to the treatment room with a long-term issue.
Ched Evans was deployed up front for their trip to Norwich on Saturday, but Lowe could call on Will Keane to come back in up front from the outset, while Duane Holmes will also fight to return from the start in support of a lone front man.
Alan Browne is bound to keep his place in an attacking midfield role, with Ali McCann likely to again join Ben Whiteman in the engine room, while Jack Whatmough will continue to join mainstays Liam Lindsay and Jordan Storey in a back three.
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Maxwell; Pearson, Helik, Lees; Thomas, Kasumu, Hogg, Wiles, Headley; Ward, Burgzorg
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Lindsay, Whatmough, Storey; Potts, McCann, Whiteman, Millar; Browne, Holmes; Keane
We say: Huddersfield Town 1-0 Preston North End
Huddersfield Town are certainly gaining confidence under Moore, and having now avoided defeat in their last four games, we fancy them to come out on top against a Preston North End side who are struggling going forward and in the midst of a concerning dip in form.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
