Huddersfield Town go up against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon knowing that victory at Ewood Park could all-but-secure their Championship status for another 12 months.
Sitting just three points clear of the visitors, Rovers will be motivated to try to end the campaign on a high after a prolonged run of poor form during 2021.
Match preview
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Having failed to win successive games since December, it came as little surprise when Huddersfield lost out to playoff-chasing Barnsley in midweek.
Carlos Corberan will take the positives from only conceding one goal to the Tykes, but the result leaves his Terriers side with work to do if they wish to stay in this division.
Although they remain eight points clear of 22nd-placed Rotherham United, their rivals have two games in hand, putting Huddersfield in a position where they are still potentially two victories away from earning their second-tier status for another year.
Realistically, success at Ewood Park should get Huddersfield over the line, but the powers-that-be at the John Smith's Stadium will be keen to avoid heading into their concluding double-header without more security.
None of the club's recognised forwards have contributed a goal since Fraizer Campbell's strike against Birmingham City on March 2.
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Despite Blackburn realistically being safe from relegation, Tony Mowbray knows that he has got three games to save his job at the North-West outfit.
A return of two wins from 17 fixtures will almost certainly lead to a change of direction in the summer, but Mowbray will still be focused on trying to end the campaign in 14th position.
Nevertheless, with their remaining three games all against teams who could move ahead of them in the standings, Rovers are at risk of their second-lowest finish in nine years.
While there is negativity regarding their recent form, four points have been collected from their most recent three contests on home territory.
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Team News
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On the back of defeat at Sheffield Wednesday, it would come as a surprise if Mowbray did not tinker with his Rovers starting lineup.
Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott may keep his place in the final third, but Ben Brereton, Stewart Downing and Bradley Johnson are all in contention for recalls.
Having made his first start in over four months in midweek, Josh Koroma could drop down to the Huddersfield substitutes' bench.
With Yaya Sanogo expected to keep his place in attack, Danny Ward and Rolando Aarons are both competing for a recall to the side.
Carel Eiting also made his long-awaited return against Barnsley, but the Dutchman will likely remain among the replacements.
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Bennett, Lenihan, Harwood-Bellis, Douglas; Johnson, Trybull, Rothwell; Elliott, Armstrong, Brereton
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Schofield; Edmonds-Green, Keogh, Sarr; Rowe, Bacuna, Hogg, O'Brien, Holmes; Ward, Sanogo
We say: Blackburn Rovers 1-1 Huddersfield Town
While Rovers have the extra freedom to push for maximum points, we do not anticipate the most entertaining of matches between these two clubs. A share of the spoils will arguably be deemed acceptable by both teams, potentially leading to a low-scoring draw.
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 Blackburn Rovers win with a probability of 47.59%. A draw had a probability of 27% and a win for Huddersfield Town had a probability of 25.45%.
The most likely scoreline for a Blackburn Rovers win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.22%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.35%) and 2-1 (8.93%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.63%), while for a Huddersfield Town win it was 0-1 (8.94%). The actual scoreline of 5-2 was predicted with a 0.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Blackburn Rovers would win this match.
