With the battle at the bottom of the Championship table settled after the hosts' victory on Thursday, Huddersfield Town and Reading will meet on the final day of the regular season on Monday.
A win over Sheffield United saw the Terriers confirm their survival and condemn their visitors to the drop with just one game left to go.
Match preview
© Reuters
Huddersfield Town's Championship season has certainly been one of contrasting halves, as they sat in real danger of relegation with 28 points on the board from their opening 31 matches before drastically improving their fortunes following the appointment of Neil Warnock in mid-February.
In his 14 games at the helm in West Yorkshire, the Terriers have successfully picked up 22 points, despite a tough start in which they won just one of his first six matches in charge, before finally moving out of the bottom three with three straight victories across late March and early April, beating Millwall, Middlesbrough and Watford to move onto 42 points with six games left to play.
Following a draw with Blackburn Rovers and a defeat at the hands of Swansea City, Warnock's men would then earn a commendable point in a 1-1 draw away at playoff-chasing Sunderland, before moving within touching distance of guaranteeing their safety with a 2-1 triumph away at Cardiff City, thanks to a Joseph Hungbo finish and a Jack Simpson own goal.
That left them with two games to play, while the sides around them only had one, knowing that a point from either Thursday's meeting with already-promoted Sheffield United or Monday's contest would see them stay clear of Reading, and they made no mistake of doing so in midweek, reaching their objective in style with a 1-0 victory as Danny Ward's second-half goal from range made the difference between the sides.
Now with no pressure on the final day, having steered clear of the bottom three, and with Warnock's tenure expected to come to an end, the Terriers will hope to end the season on a high with another victory at the John Smith's Stadium.
© Reuters
With no relegation spots left to decide, their visitors travel north having been the victim of Huddersfield's midweek success, with Reading now preparing for next season in League One.
In what has been a relatively tough season on the whole, the Royals looked to have done more than enough to secure a relatively safe mid-table finish under Paul Ince's management, but their situation quickly worsened as they were handed an immediate six-point deduction at the beginning of April.
As they were unable to bounce back from that disappointment, Ince was eventually dismissed in mid-April following a seven-match winless run in England's second tier, and interim boss Noel Hunt has since been unable to inspire a significant upturn in form, with that wait for a victory now stretched to 11 games as they firstly played out relatively commendable draws with Burnley and Luton Town.
The Royals would then suffer a disappointing defeat away at Coventry City, before most recently hosting basement side and already-relegated Wigan Athletic last weekend, knowing that a victory would be crucial for their survival hopes, but they were only able to come away with a point thanks to Yakou Meite's 93rd-minute leveller after Charlie Hughes had previously put their hosts ahead.
While that could have left them needing a victory on the final-day meeting with Huddersfield to leapfrog the Terriers and avoid the drop, survival was ultimately out of the hands of Hunt's side with Warnock's men boasting a game in hand, and following Thursday's result, Reading now face third-tier football next season and will hope to at least bow out in style before setting out to return to the Championship next term.
Team News
© Reuters
Neil Warnock may deploy an unchanged starting XI from the victory over Sheffield United for the final game of the season, with Danny Ward again set to lead the line after his impressive goal in that triumph.
He will likely be supported by Josh Koroma and Jack Rudoni in the attacking line, while David Kasumu will again join Jonathan Hogg in the engine room.
Tom Lees, Michal Helik and Matty Pearson will line up in an unchanged back three, while first-choice goalkeeper Lee Nicholls has recently returned between the sticks after a long injury layoff.
With their relegation already confirmed, and with a long list of injuries including the likes of Sam Hutchinson, Liam Moore, Tom Ince and Ovie Ejaria, Noel Hunt could afford opportunities to several youngsters in the Reading squad, with Kelvin Abrefa and Mamadi Camara along those vying for spots in the starting XI.
Striker Andy Carroll will return to contention following a suspension and could come back in to lead the line on the final day, having netted nine goals in 30 Championship appearances this term, while Lucas Joao, Shane Long, Yakou Meite and 20-year-old Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan are also fighting to feature up front.
Chelsea loanee Cesare Casadei should again feature in midfield in the final game before returning to his parent club, while Tom Holmes and Tom McIntyre could both start in the middle of the defence.
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Lees, Helik, Pearson; Edmonds-Green, Hogg, Kasumu, Headley; Rudoni, Koroma; Ward
Reading possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Abrefa, Holmes, McIntyre, Guinness-Walker; Hendrick, Casadei, Camara, Azeez; Carroll, Ehibhatiomhan
We say: Huddersfield Town 2-0 Reading
After confirming their survival with back-to-back wins, Huddersfield will come into the final day on a high, and we see them recording another triumph on home turf against a Reading side who are no longer fighting to avoid the drop and will likely make many squad rotations.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
