Huddersfield Town and Peterborough United will do battle at the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday in a game of major importance at both ends of the League One table.
The hosts have strengthened their standing in the top six with back-to-back victories, while their visitors now lead the relegation zone by just two points.
Match preview
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Huddersfield Town head into the weekend aiming to extend a winning run and cement their position in League One's top six, having ended a rut in the last week.
After a strong first half to their first season back in England's third tier, in a bid to win an immediate promotion back to the Championship under the management of Michael Duff, they sat in top-two contention on 47 points from 24 outings, only to quickly fall away from the automatic promotion spots in a five-match winless run.
The Terriers added just two more points to their tally in that time between early January and early February, as a pair of draws surrounded three straight defeats, even putting their playoff spot at risk, but the Yorkshire outfit have bounced back since.
They visited local rivals Barnsley last weekend and came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Josh Koroma and Ben Wiles, before the former netted the only goal eight minutes from time in a trip to strugglers Shrewsbury Town on Tuesday.
Those victories have seen Huddersfield Town move back up to fifth spot and five points clear of the playoffs' chasing pack, and while their eight-point gap to the top two may be a step too far with two other sides also ahead, Duff's team will aim to strengthen their position and extend a winning run in the coming weeks.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, also go in search of crucial points in the fight at the other end of the table, as they bid to move clear of the threat of relegation.
Following back-to-back playoff semi-final defeats in the last two terms, Peterborough United have endured a poor campaign by their own standards thus far, currently sitting 20th having only managed 31 points from their 31 games so far.
Of the Posh's eight league victories this term, only one has come in their last 12 outings since mid-December, having earned just seven points in the same time, as they ended an eight-match winless streak by beating Wigan Athletic 1-0 late last month.
Back-to-back third-tier defeats then followed, either side of a narrow EFL Trophy quarter-final win over Cheltenham Town, before Darren Ferguson's side most recently visited Stevenage on Saturday and left with a share of the spoils from a 1-1 draw thanks to Cian Hayes's 67th-minute leveller.
With pressure growing rapidly, having dropped to one place and two points above the relegation zone as a result of their rut, Peterborough United will be desperate to kickstart an improved run and a climb away from the bottom four with what would be an impressive away win on Saturday and just their third of the season on the road.
Team News
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Huddersfield Town could be unchanged from their midweek win over Shrewsbury Town, with attackers Danny Ward, Rhys Healey and Joe Taylor and defenders Nigel Lonwijk, Ruben Roosken and Mickel Miller likely remaining sidelined by injuries.
Josh Koroma should continue to lead the line, having scored in their last two victories to move onto eight goals for the season, while Dion Charles will hope to displace Callum Marshall and join him in attack, having not yet opened his account for the Terriers following a January switch from Bolton Wanderers.
Ben Wiles has also contributed eight goals this term and will lend support to a front two, likely joining David Kasumu, Jonathan Hogg and Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Tawanda Chirewa in the middle of their new-look 4-4-2 setup.
Peterborough remain without a pair of key men for Saturday's trip, with attacker Kwame Poku having been sidelined by an injury since early December while mainstay centre-back Emmanuel Fernandez will serve the second instalment of a four-match ban following his red card in a defeat to Charlton Athletic.
In Fernandez's absence, Oscar Wallin and Sam Hughes will again partner up in the middle of a back four, while Archie Collins and Hector Kyprianou should continue in the engine room of a 4-2-3-1 setup.
Cian Hayes will hope to earn a start in the attacking unit after his equaliser off the bench against Stevenage, while Ricky-Jade Jones and Malik Mothersille will continue to play important roles having managed 14 and 11 goals respectively so far this season.
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Sorensen, Balker, Lees, Ruffels; Wiles, Hogg, Kasumu, Chirewa; Koroma, Marshall
Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Steer; Johnston, Wallin, Hughes, Edun; Collins, Kyprianou; Hayes, Conn-Clarke, Mothersille; Jones
We say: Huddersfield Town 2-0 Peterborough United
With Huddersfield Town having regained momentum in their promotion bid in the last week and the visitors still low on confidence at the bottom end of the table, we back Michael Duff's men to make it three victories in a row on Saturday.
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Sam Varley
