Newcastle United will welcome Huddersfield Town to St James' Park on Saturday as two of the Premier League's relegation-threatened clubs do battle in the North-East.
Just a point separates these two sides in the table following the international break, with the hosts in better form going into the clash.
Newcastle United
© SilverHub
Newcastle will have confidence ahead of this one following their crucial 3-0 win over Southampton at home before the break, which lifted them further away from the drop.
It was a win secured in part by Chelsea loanee Kenedy, who netted twice in the first half - with his first coming inside two minutes - before Matt Ritchie added his side's third in the latter period.
The win was a welcome one after their 2-0 defeat to Liverpool the week before, and was only their second victory by two goals or more all season after a 3-0 success over West Ham United at home in August.
Additionally, it was a result which epitomises Newcastle's upturn in form since the start of the year. The Magpies ended 2017 with just four points from five games, but have earned double that in their most recent five.
The result that springs to mind from that run was their 1-0 win over Manchester United, again at St James' Park, which was secured with a Ritchie strike.
One aspect of the club's current form that will worry manager Rafael Benitez, however, is that his side have drawn three of their last six.
Not only that, but these draws have been from winning positions, which is all the more concerning. In their latest stalemate, with Bournemouth, Dwight Gayle had sent Newcastle in front with a brace, before the Cherries responded with two goals in nine minutes to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Benitez will want to make sure his side don't throw away another lead this time around. St James' Park has been good to Newcastle of late, however, with three of the club's last five wins coming in the North-East.
Recent form: DDWDLW
Huddersfield Town
© SilverHub
Huddersfield, meanwhile, have not earned a point since the end of February, in a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion.
In fact, since that win, David Wagner's side have not scored a single goal in three games, losing 2-0 to both Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace either side of a 0-0 draw with Swansea City.
It is the latter two results, to the Swans and Palace, that will worry Wagner more. The results came at home and were to other teams threatened by relegation - six-pointers that the German will have been desperate for his side to win.
As it is, Huddersfield's latest run of games is better than what the team produced earlier in the campaign - in their last five, Huddersfield earned seven points, while in the five previous to that the club failed to add any points to their tally.
In the club's first season in the top flight, Wagner is holding nothing back from his players. The coach told his pre-match press conference that he is "excited" for what lies ahead in the remainder of the season.
Whether Wagner's attitude will manifest itself in the team's performance in this tie remains to be seen, but it is certain that the Terriers need a win to put their recent form right.
Previous to their two wins since the turn of the year, you have to go back to mid-December to find Huddersfield's last victory - a feisty 4-1 triumph over Watford at Vicarage Road in which Jonathan Hogg was sent off.
Huddersfield's last break from league action, which came in the FA Cup in February, saw them come out the other side with a Premier League win. The West Yorkshire club will want more of the same as they return from the international break.
Recent form: LWWLDL
Recent form (all competitions): WLWLDL
Team News
© SilverHub
Ritchie has only scored two Premier League goals all season, but both strikes have led his side to victories. The Scotsman pulled out of his national squad with injury earlier this week, however he could be back to face the Terriers, to the delight of many Magpies fans.
Gayle's brace against Bournemouth took his league tally to five this season, the most of any player at the club this term - the Englishman's nearest challenger is fellow forward Joselu, who has four in the top flight.
From this, then, Kenedy's influence since joining Benitez's team cannot be overlooked. The double he netted against Southampton is a marker of his quick adaptation to his new surroundings, and the Brazilian will be looking to push on this weekend.
For Huddersfield, Wagner has confirmed that both Terence Kongolo and Jon Gorenc-Stankovic are in contention to play on Saturday. Kongolo has spent the international break training, while Stankovic has featured for the Under-23s in recent matches.
Steve Mounie, the scorer of the Terriers' last Premier League goal, has the most of any player at the club in the league this term (6), as well as adding two further strikes elsewhere.
Newcastle possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Yedlin, Lascelles, Lejuene, Dummett; Ritchie, Shelvey, Diame, Kenedy; Perez, Gayle
Huddersfield possible starting lineup:
Lossl; Hadergjonaj, Jorgensen, Kongolo, Malone; Hogg, Mooy, Quaner, Pritchard; Ince, Mounie
Head To Head
Huddersfield took the spoils the last time these two sides met in August, with a 1-0 victory courtesy of an Aaron Mooy strike.
Before this season, the clubs were fighting for Premier League promotion. In that campaign, Huddersfield won the first meeting, before the Magpies exacted revenge in March last year.
We say: Newcastle 1-1 Huddersfield
These two sides are separated by just a point in the table, therefore neither will want to give any opportunities away to the opposition. If they do, a result either way will have massive implications for the confidence and staying power of the teams.
This could be a tight affair - we are going for a low-scoring draw.
No Data Analysis info
