Burnley have their sights set on climbing into the automatic promotion places as they prepare to welcome Huddersfield Town to Turf Moor on Saturday.
Sean Dyche's promotion hopefuls currently occupy third spot in the Championship, while Huddersfield are sitting four points above the relegation zone in 16th position.
Burnley
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As the gaps between sides in the Championship begin to widen, Burnley are starting to show why so many people tipped them as title contenders before the start of the season.
Plenty of clubs have struggled to recover from relegation over the years, but the Clarets have settled down impressively after investing smartly in the summer to ensure that they could produce a strong promotion bid.
Much will change over the course of the campaign, but it seems unlikely that Burnley will not be in the mix close to the top of the table towards the end of the season and Dyche's squad looks to have enough quality to cope with the demands of the Championship.
The Clarets have lost just one of their last 10 league games on their climb up the table and currently sit four points behind leaders Brighton & Hove Albion after last weekend's 1-0 victory over Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers.
It was the kind of performance required by promotion contenders as Burnley soaked up pressure and enjoyed some luck before clinching the win with a goal from Scott Arfield.
With the next three games coming against teams currently in the bottom half of the table, Dyche will be keen to collect nine points ahead of a meeting with Brighton in late November.
Recent form: DLWWDW
Huddersfield
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After steering Huddersfield clear of the relegation zone last season, Chris Powell has quickly learned that his side face another battle to remain clear of danger.
As the Terriers look to cement their status as a Championship side after three seasons of flirting with the bottom three, the challenge is once again for the club to find consistency.
Four points from games against Ipswich Town and MK Dons moved Huddersfield further up the table this month, but a sixth loss of the season arrived last week when Derby County left the John Smith's Stadium with a 2-1 victory.
Turning solid performances into victories seems to be a hard mountain to climb for the Terries, whose tally of just three wins has prevented them from being in the top half after 13 games.
There was good news off the pitch this week as 19-year-old striker Flo Bojaj signed a new contract extension until the summer of 2017 after impressing on his promotion to the first-team squad.
Games against Burnley and Reading in the next week will push this side to the limit, but the fans will take great confidence if Huddersfield can avoid the defeats many people will be expecting them to suffer.
Recent form: WDLDWL
Team News
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Dyche is not one to change much over the course of a week, and after last week's narrow win over Blackburn, the Clarets boss could name an unchanged side.
Dean Marney is edging closer to a return to first-team action after playing for the club's Under-21s side this week, but he may not yet be fit enough to earn a spot in the squad.
Huddersfield were dealt a blow in the loss to Derby when Sean Scannell came off in the first half due to a hamstring injury, and Mustapha Carayol should replace his teammate if he fails to recover.
James Vaughan will serve the final game of his three-match suspension, while Jonathan Hogg is unlikely to be fit enough to make his return from a thigh injury.
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Heaton; Darikwa, Duff, Keane, Mee; Barton, Jones, Arfield, Boyd; Vokes, Gray
Huddersfield possible starting lineup:
Steer; Cranie, Hudson, Lynch, Davidson; Whitehead, Huws, Bunn, Carayol; Wells, Miller
Head To Head
Two players who left Burnley in the summer were the heroes when these two sides last met, with a brace from Danny Ings and a goal from Kieran Trippier securing a 3-2 victory on New Year's Day 2014.
Huddersfield had won the previous three games against Burnley before that defeat at Turf Moor.
We say: Burnley 2-0 Huddersfield
Burnley may not have been at their best last weekend, but another well-earned victory suggests that a fine run could continue on Saturday. Huddersfield will look to make themselves hard to break down as they aim to upset the odds. However, Burnley should be strong enough to make at least one breakthrough on the way to a win.
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