A crunch clash in the Championship promotion race takes place on Saturday afternoon as Huddersfield Town host Bournemouth.
The Terriers are currently third in the table and just three points behind the Cherries in second. Meanwhile, the South coast side trail leaders Fulham by 11 points.
Match preview
© Reuters
Huddersfield's 17-match unbeaten run in the Championship came to an end on Wednesday night as they lost 2-0 away at Millwall.
It was their first league defeat of 2022 and in truth they could have lost by more as the Lions hit the post and Lee Nicholls was forced into a couple of impressive saves.
Given that they have played three more games than Bournemouth, Carlos Corberan's side must surely win on Saturday to keep their hopes of automatic promotion alive.
The Terriers are still unbeaten in their last nine home matches since the end of November and they have won four of their last five games at the John Smith's Stadium in all competitions.
© Reuters
It has been a tricky fortnight for Bournemouth, who have taken just one win from their last four games and have dropped points against struggling Peterborough United and Reading.
The Cherries drew 1-1 at home against the Royals on Tuesday night and were second-best for much of the encounter after taking the lead through Dominic Solanke.
Nonetheless, victory for Scott Parker's side in Yorkshire would be a huge step towards a return to the Premier League.
Bournemouth have suffered just four defeats on the road this season, but three of those have come in their last six away trips.
The Cherries – who have the Championship's best defensive record – have won five successive matches against Huddersfield and were comfortable 3-0 victors in this season's reverse fixture at the Vitality Stadium.
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Carlos Corberan may switch to a back four after Huddersfield struggled in a back three against Millwall on Wednesday.
Matty Pearson was the centre-back to be sacrificed when Corberan made the formation tweak mid-game in midweek so could drop out, while there may be recalls for Ollie Turton and Daniel Sinani.
Carel Eiting missed the trip to The Den with a foot issue, but is likely to be back in contention for the matchday squad.
Bournemouth will be boosted by having Adam Smith and Philip Billing back available, with the pair having missed recent games through suspension.
Robbie Brady has trained throughout this week and is getting closer to being able to feature after over two months out with a calf injury.
Leif Davis sustained a hip injury against Derby County last weekend and although it is not as bad as first feared, Saturday's match is likely to come too soon for the left-back.
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Turton, Colwill, Lees, Toffolo; Hogg, Russell, O'Brien; Thomas, Ward, Sinani
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Travers; Smith, Phillips, Kelly, Zemura; Lerma, Cook, Billing; Christie, Solanke, Lowe
We say: Huddersfield Town 0-0 Bournemouth
With plenty at stake and both teams faltering over the last 10 days, this could be a nervy and perhaps low-scoring affair. We cannot separate the teams and are predicting a draw, which Bournemouth are likely to be much happier with than Huddersfield.
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 Bournemouth win with a probability of 38.44%. A win for Huddersfield Town had a probability of 34.6% and a draw had a probability of 27%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bournemouth win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.27%) and 0-2 (6.83%). The likeliest Huddersfield Town win was 1-0 (9.91%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.8%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 2.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bournemouth would win this match.
