Aiming to rebuild a lead over the bottom three in the Championship table, Huddersfield Town will travel to South Wales to take on Cardiff City on Wednesday.
Despite back-to-back positive results under the new management of Andre Breitenreiter, the visitors now only sit above the drop zone on goal difference, while their hosts have climbed up to 11th spot with consecutive wins.
Match preview
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Cardiff City return to Wales on Wednesday with the aim of continuing an upturn in form and keeping any slender Championship playoff hopes alive, having bounced back from a tough spell with consecutive victories in recent weeks.
In what has certainly been an improved campaign on the whole since Erol Bulut's summer appointment, Cardiff City endured a tough run early in the New Year as a six-match span between mid-January and mid-February produced five defeats alongside a solitary win away at Watford, seeing them drop away from the top-six fight as a result.
The Bluebirds appear to have turned a corner since, though, firstly ending a run of three straight losses with a goalless draw at home to Blackburn Rovers, before hosting Stoke City and making a return to winning ways as Kion Etete and Karlan Grant netted first-half goals in a 2-1 triumph.
A trip to rivals Bristol City then followed on Saturday, and Bulut's men took bragging rights and made it consecutive league wins for the first time since October, prevailing at Ashton Gate as Perry Ng netted the only goal of the contest soon after the hour mark.
Now with confidence restored in the camp and the gap up to the top six reduced to nine points with 11 games to go, albeit with several sides in between as they sit 11th, Cardiff City will aim to keep building momentum with a third straight victory on Wednesday to boost those slim hopes ahead of a tough test against promotion-chasing Ipswich Town at the weekend.
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They face a difficult challenge in midweek, though, as the visitors arrive with confidence of their own and a need for three points in the fight for survival.
Huddersfield Town head into Wednesday's meeting in 21st spot, only leading the relegation zone on goal difference, despite enjoying an upturn in form since Darren Moore's mid-January departure with the Terriers again hanging just above the bottom three.
Interim manager Jon Worthington inspired somewhat of an upturn in form at the John Smith's Stadium, leading the West Yorkshire outfit to two important victories in a five-match span, before the club turned to German manager Andre Breitenreiter to lead their survival bid in late February.
His tenure began with a tough trip to Watford, and the Terriers left with a crucial three-point haul, coming from behind to win 2-1 thanks to Danny Ward's brace off the bench, before they most recently hosted then-second-placed Leeds United in a West Yorkshire Derby on Saturday and took a creditable share of the spoils, having gone ahead through Michal Helik and played the second half with 10 men after Jonathan Hogg's red card, with Patrick Bamford eventually forcing a 1-1 draw in the 67th minute.
Despite their notable improvement in the last month and under new management, the competitive bottom end of the Championship means that Huddersfield Town have again dropped to 21st spot, and with Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday hot on their heels in the fight for survival, Breitenreiter's men will be desperate to make it three games unbeaten with a return to winning ways on Wednesday to try to establish a lead.
Team News
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Huddersfield Town head into Wednesday's trip without key midfielder Jonathan Hogg, who was sent off for a second bookable offence in the first half of their draw with Leeds United last time out, while defender Yuta Nakayama will join Oliver Turton, Josh Ruffels and Rhys Healey in the engine room after being forced off in the opening 30 minutes on Saturday.
Their injury issues have eased slightly, though, with Danny Ward returning to contention and netting a brace against Watford, while centre-back Michal Helik returned off the bench in Nakayama's place to score his ninth Championship goal of the season against Leeds, and he should come into the back line from the outset on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Ben Wiles will likely join Alex Matos and Jack Rudoni in the engine room in Hogg's absence, while Delano Burgzorg and Danny Ward will hope to fight off competition from the likes of Josh Koroma and Bojan Radulovic to lead the line, with Sorba Thomas offering a further threat from out wide.
Cardiff City will remain without key defender Mark McGuinness on Wednesday, while goalkeeper Jak Alnwick is also sidelined by an injury, meaning Ethan Horvath will continue between the sticks.
The Bluebirds will likely be unchanged from Saturday's derby win, with Nathaniel Phillips again joining Dimitrios Goutas at the heart of a back four in McGuinness's absence, while Joe Ralls and Emmanouil Siopis will continue their partnership in midfield despite competition from Ryan Wintle.
Ahead of them, January arrival David Turnbull should again join wingers Rubin Colwill and Josh Bowler in a supporting trio behind lone striker Kion Etete, with Karlan Grant and Callum Robinson also set to remain confined to the treatment room.
Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Horvath; Ng, Phillips, Goutas, Wilson-Esbrand; Siopis, Ralls; Bowler, Turnbull, Colwill; Etete
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Pearson, Helik, Lees; Thomas, Matos, Wiles, Rudoni, Spencer; Burgzorg, Ward
We say: Cardiff City 1-1 Huddersfield Town
With both sides having a degree of renewed confidence and a need for three points, we anticipate a tight and entertaining encounter at the Cardiff City Stadium.
We cannot quite envisage either succumbing to a defeat, though, and see a share of the spoils as the most likely outcome.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
