Sunderland will travel to Yorkshire to meet Huddersfield Town on Wednesday in a game of significant importance at both ends of the Championship table.
Match preview
Huddersfield Town aims to return to winning ways in the fight for Championship survival this season. They suffered a setback at the weekend after gaining crucial ground in recent weeks.
Despite putting together an unbeaten run with consecutive 1-1 draws against Plymouth Argyle, Blackburn Rovers, and Queens Park Rangers, manager Darren Moore’s tenure came to an end in January. The team currently sits 21st on 28 points from 29 matches.
Jon Worthington has taken over on an interim basis and oversaw a crucial 4-0 victory in their last match against Sheffield Wednesday. Huddersfield will be desperate to bounce back and establish a cushion while searching for a new permanent manager.
In their way stand a Sunderland side aiming to strengthen their playoff claim. They have enjoyed an upturn in form in recent weeks.
Following Michael Beale’s appointment as manager in mid-December, the Black Cats initially struggled to secure points. However, they have earned seven points from their last three matches, including a 3-1 win against Plymouth Argyle.
Now sitting seventh, Sunderland will bid to make it four games unbeaten and climb into the top six with a midweek victory in Yorkshire.
Team News
Huddersfield Town continues to contend with a long list of enforced absentees. Key defender Michal Helik and new attacker Rhys Healey missed out in their last match.
Oliver Turton, Josh Ruffels, Jaheim Headley, Chris Maxwell, Danny Ward, Delano Burgzorg, and Kian Harratt are also unavailable.
Sunderland will likely deploy a similar starting lineup to the one that featured in their last victory. Dennis Cirkin, Niall Huggins, Ajibola Alese, Bradley Dack, and new arrival Callum Styles are currently unavailable.
Possible starting lineups
Huddersfield Town:
Nicholls;
Pearson, Lees, Nakayama;
Kasumu, Matos, Hogg, Spencer;
Rudoni, Koroma, Thomas
Sunderland:
Patterson;
Hume, Ballard, O’Nien, Hjelde;
Neil;
Roberts, Bellingham, Ekwah, Clarke;
Rusyn
Prediction: Huddersfield Town 1-2 Sunderland
Huddersfield Town showed fighting spirit in their last match but fell short against a strong opponent. Sunderland, with more quality throughout their squad, is expected to prevail in this difficult test.
