Huddersfield Town face Bournemouth in a crucial match at the top of the Championship table on Saturday.

Carlos Coberan and his side will be looking to put themselves level on points with The Cherries on Saturday with a win, although the team from the South coast do have three games in hand on The Terriers.

  • Team news

Huddersfield Town 

From a tactical perspective, it is likely that Coberan will want to make some form of changes after seeing his side pick up just one point from their last three games, losing 0-2 to Millwall at The Den last time out.

Matty Pearson was replaced by Ollie Turton in the 56th minute of that game in what appeared to be a tactical change, so perhaps The Terriers' boss will opt to use Turton ahead of a difficult game against a strong Cherries side.

In terms of injuries, Carel Eiting missed out last time out due to a foot injury, but he is expected to be fit for the match on Saturday.

Other than that, Coberan said that the squad available to him has not changed form their defeat against Millwall on Wednesday night.

Bournemouth

Ahead of the game Cherries boss Scott Parker delivered an injury update, confirming that attacker Kieffer Moore will be out for an extended period and Junior Stanislas will not be available for the game.

Parker is however hoping to have the winger fit to play after the international break.

In more positive news for Bournemouth, Parker said that Robbie Brady is returning to fitness having trained all week with the squad.

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He also said that Leif Davies had a scan on his knock and the results were better than first expected.

Both Phillip Billing and Adam Smith have served their suspensions and will be available for selection on Saturday.

  • Predicted lineups

Huddersfield Town

Nicholls, Turton, Colwill, Lees, Toffolo, Hogg, Russell, O'Brien, Thomas, Ward, Sinani.

Bournemouth

Travers; Smith, Phillips, Kelly, Zemura, Lerma, Cook, Billing, Christie, Cantwell, Solanke.

  • Form guide

Huddersfield Town 

The Terriers suffered their first loss in the league in 17 matches at The Den on Wednesday night, and will be hoping to bounce back from the setback.

They have also not won in their last three matches, crashing out of the FA Cup to Nottingham Forest, losing 2-1 at the City Ground before a 2-2 draw against West Brom and the loss to Millwall. 

Coberan and his side have played the last three on the road, and will return to the John Smith's Stadium, where they are unbeaten in their last nine matches.

Their last loss there was in November in the early stages of Chris Wilder's tenure at Middlesbrough, when a Duncan Watmore masterclass was the difference between the two sides in a 1-2 loss for Huddersfield.

Coberan will hope that his side will be able to call on their impressive home form of late to see off The Cherries in what will be a huge challenge for The Terriers as they look to put pressure on the automatic promotion spots.

Bournemouth

Bournemouth's recent run of form has been disappointing, winning only once in their last four games.

Parker's side began March by losing 2-1 to Preston North End, having led until the 54th minute and conceding Emil Riis Jakobsen's winning goal as the game approached added time.

Draws to Reading and Peterborough were also both disappointing results for The Cherries, who would have been hoping to increase the gap between themselves and the play offs, as they currently sit second in the league.

With three games in hand on The Terriers who sit a place below  them, Saturday represents the perfect opportunity to increase the gap to six points on third place should other results go in Bournemouth's favour.

Making use of one of their games in hand will also go a long way to helping their title push, as they currently sit 11 points behind Fulham but with two games in hand.

Parker's side will need to take full advantage of the games in hand should they want to stand a chance of catching Fulham.

  • Ones to watch

Huddersfield Town 

Danny Ward's 13 goals in the league this season is the highest of any Huddersfield player, making him the most likely to score for the hosts against The Cherries.

The striker scored a brace in a 2-2 draw against West Brom at the Hawthorns on the 11th of March, and will want to put the disappointment of the 0-2 loss to Millwall in midweek to return to goalscoring form on Saturday

Ward, who joined The Terriers on a free transfer in 2020, will want to add to the poor run of form Bournemouth have been on and capitalise on that run to score in what will be a big game for the hosts.

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Bournemouth

An impressive 22 goals for Dominic Solanke in the league this season makes him the most dangerous threat to the hosts on Saturday.

The £17m signing from Liverpool in 2019 had a slow start to life as a Bournemouth player, but has found fine form this season and will be hoping he can continue to score goals in West Yorkshire.

The Englishman has scored in both of his last two games, and should he find the net against Coberan's side, it would be the third time this season he had scored in three appearances in a row.

The prospect of facing a Huddersfield defence which has been out of sorts of late will be something Solanke will look forward to as well.

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  • Previous meetings

Huddersfield will be looking to get revenge over Bournemouth after suffering a 3-0 defeat against The Cherries back in October.

Huddersfield have not beaten their opponents on Saturday since they were relegated to the Championship, losing on all three meetings.

They were also thrashed 5-0 by the South coast in December 2020.

A 4-1 win in the Premier League in February 2018 was the last win for The Terriers in games between the two clubs.

The overall head to head however is much closer, with Bournemouth winning on 19 occasions and Huddersfield 18, with the teams drawing 19 times.

The match is a big chance for Huddersfield to prove their worth to the rest of the league and highlight their promotion credentials.

  • Where to watch

For fans outside the UK and Ireland, a match pass for the game which could have a huge impact on the table can be purchased via either club website. 

Fans can also buy an audio match pass for £2.50.

  • What the managers have said

Huddersfield Town

Coberan was keen to move on from the defeat on Wednesday in his pre-match press conference.

He said: "The players are so focused to get the three points, they don't need to win every game to play well in the next one.

"It's always about the next game we have in front of us."

Bournemouth

Parker was very complimentary of his opponents in his pre-match press conference.

He said: "Huddersfield have done a remarkable job to be honest with you. The way it started for them and the transformation, they've done very well.

"They're a very good side, a well organised team with quality and it will be a tough game for us."

The Cherries' manager also said that it would take a performance of the highest quality to win all three points in West Yorkshire on Saturday.

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