Huddersfield Town head into their Championship encounter with Rotherham United looking to respond to their 7-0 defeat at leaders Norwich City earlier this week.
While the Terriers currently hold an eight-point advantage over their 22nd-placed opponents, Rotherham possess three games in hand ahead of their trip to the John Smith's Stadium.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having put together a five-match unbeaten streak at a crucial period of the season, Huddersfield appeared to be making significant progress under the guidance of Carlos Corberan.
However, the momentum generated from that improved run of results was wiped out with their demoralising defeat at Carrow Road earlier this week.
Fortunately for the Terriers, they remain clear of the bottom three, but Saturday's fixture will be a test of their character as they bid to avoid a relegation scrap over the next month.
Only Wycombe possess a worse defensive record than Huddersfield, heaping the pressure on an attack which has scored just four goals in eight outings.
Leading marksman Fraizer Campbell has failed to score in four appearances, while Yaya Sanogo has not contributed a goal or assist in 241 minutes of football since his arrival.
© Reuters
Rotherham embark on a run of 10 fixtures in four weeks, a consequence of two significant coronavirus outbreaks since the start of the year.
On the back of eight defeats in 10 games, Paul Warne may be slightly pessimistic about whether his squad are capable of overcoming the current seven-point deficit to Birmingham City.
On the plus side, four of Rotherham's next five fixtures are against teams who they will regard as relegation rivals, giving them an opportunity to pull clubs closer to the bottom three.
Nevertheless, the first target for this team is to shake off the disappointment of a 3-0 defeat against Wycombe Wanderers earlier this week, a result which puts the Millers at risk of falling to the bottom of the standings.
- D
- D
- W
- D
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Campbell will be recalled to the Huddersfield starting lineup in what is likely to be one of a number of changes.
Goalkeeper Ryan Schofield will replace Joel Pereira between the sticks if he has recovered from the illness which kept him out of Tuesday's game, while Ramari Edmonds-Green could get the nod over Richard Stearman.
With Richard Wood returning from suspension, Rotherham boss Warne will almost certainly revert back to a 3-5-2 formation.
Wes Harding is in line to feature at right wing-back, although he faces competition from Matthew Olosunde who has recovered from a hamstring injury.
Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Ryan Giles could also return on the opposite flank.
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Schofield; Edmonds-Green, Keogh, Sarr; Duhaney, Bacuna, Hogg, O'Brien; Mbenza, Campbell, Holmes
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Ihiekwe, Wood, MacDonald; Harding, Lindsay, Barlaser, Wing, Giles; Smith, Ladapo
We say: Huddersfield Town 2-1 Rotherham United
For a number of reasons, nerves will play their part on Saturday afternoon as both teams look to claim a much-needed victory. Although the Millers are strong away from home, we are backing Huddersfield to earn a narrow win, potentially through a fast start to the contest.
Top tip
Darren Plant
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 Huddersfield Town win with a probability of 37.67%. A win for Rotherham United had a probability of 34.39% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Huddersfield Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.48%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.96%) and 2-0 (6.96%). The likeliest Rotherham United win was 0-1 (10.84%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.14%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 9.5% likelihood.
