Derby County will travel to Huddersfield Town on Saturday afternoon looking for a victory that could help them to secure a spot in the Championship playoffs.
The hosts are already assured of their place in the division next season, but they will be looking to continue their recent unbeaten run.
Huddersfield Town
© Getty Images
The Terriers can start planning for a fourth successive campaign in the Championship after guaranteeing their safety with an unbeaten run of four games since the beginning of March.
Impressive victories over Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest helped to push them clear of the bottom three, while a goalless draw against Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday evening confirmed their survival.
It is easy to forget that their season started in such turmoil, with an opening-day hammering by Bournemouth leading to Mark Robins departing the club.
A relegation scrap seemed likely after losing five of their first eight games, but the appointment of Chris Powell has given them much-needed stability and they are on course to record their best-ever finish in the Championship.
Despite keeping a clean sheet in their previous two matches, Powell will surely want to improve his defence over the summer, as they have leaked 69 goals in the Championship this season, with only Fulham and Blackpool conceding more.
Recent form: DLDWWD
Derby County
© Getty Images
Derby's promotion hopes have been hanging by a thread recently, but they kept hold of fourth place in the Championship by recording a 4-0 win over already-relegated Blackpool on Tuesday evening.
They are currently seven points behind second-placed Norwich City, so an automatic promotion spot looks beyond their reach, but a victory at the John Smith's Stadium would leave them needing to win just one of their two remaining fixtures to land a playoff berth.
The Rams will be hoping to improve upon their recent form before the playoffs start, as they have won just two of their previous 10 games in the Championship.
That included a recent eight-game winless streak, with March proving to be a particularly disappointing month for Steve McClaren's side.
If they are to win promotion, then the goals of Darren Bent could prove crucial, as the on-loan striker has scored 12 times in 15 matches since his January move from Aston Villa. He has found the net in each of his last four games and with Chris Martin a major doubt, his value to the team has increased substantially.
Recent form: LLDWDW
Team News
© Getty Images
Huddersfield will have Harry Bunn available this weekend, as the striker has recovered from a recent hamstring injury.
However, James Vaughan hasn't been able to shake off a knee problem and will not take part.
Derby striker Martin missed the game against Blackpool and he could miss out again after aggravating a hamstring problem.
Will Hughes is expected to return after serving a two-match ban and Johnny Russell could also come back into the starting lineup.
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Smithies, Hudson, Smith, Gobern, Lynch, James, Butterfield, Coady, Scannell, Bunn, Wells
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Grant, Forsyth, Bryson, Keogh, Shotton, Warnock, Hendrick, Russell, Hughes, Ince, Bent
Head To Head
The two teams shared a five-goal thriller when they met back in November, as Derby edged to a 3-2 victory at Pride Park.
It was their third win in four games against Huddersfield and this is a fixture that the Rams have tended to dominate over the years.
There have also been 14 goals in the last four meetings between the clubs, so there is every chance of another goal-fest on Saturday.
We say: Huddersfield Town 1-2 Derby County
Derby will know that they can't afford any more slip-ups in the next three games, with a place in the playoffs at stake. They are not performing at their best, but they are more than capable of grinding out a result and with Bent scoring for fun at the moment, we think that they will edge out Huddersfield to claim the points this weekend.
Alex Meyers
