Cardiff City travel to the John Smith's Stadium to face Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night having moved to within four points of the Championship playoffs.

As for the Terriers, two victories from three matches have helped established a six-point gap above the relegation zone.

Match preview

While Danny Cowley has endured a mixed time at Huddersfield since his arrival earlier in the season, he will be content to see that his team have put some distance between themselves and the bottom three.

After a run of just three wins from 13 matches in the Championship, victories over Hull City and Queens Park Rangers in the last three outings have stopped Cowley and his players looking over their shoulder for the time being.

Nevertheless, Cowley needs to discover a way of putting together two triumphs on the bounce - something which has not been achieved since the beginning of November.

The addition of Arsenal loanee Emile Smith Rowe has made a difference, although Steve Mounie has emerged as the team's most important player with six goals from his eight most recent league appearances.

Cowley will hope that the Benin international is able to net for the fourth successive game on Wednesday as Huddersfield take on one of the form teams in the division.

Despite criticism since arriving at the Bluebirds, Neil Harris has witnessed his team put together a five-match unbeaten run, resulting in eight points being recorded in the process.

Although seven draws have been registered from 15 matches, there have been just two defeats, contributing to the Welsh side moving into contention for a playoff place.

Goals remain an issue, however, with Cardiff having been indebted to Lee Tomlin's three important strikes against Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion and Luton Town in recent weeks.

With fixtures against the Terriers, Wigan Athletic and Stoke City to come, Harris and the playmaker will hope that he is provided with help from his teammates ahead of meetings with a number of their potential promotion rivals.

Huddersfield Town Championship form: LLDWLW
Huddersfield Town form (all competitions): LLDWLW

Cardiff City Championship form: LDDWDW
Cardiff City form (all competitions): DDWDDW

Team News

With the extra days' rest, Cowley could opt to make minimum alterations to his Huddersfield starting lineup.

Chris Willock may be handed a chance on one of the flanks after joining on loan from Benfica, while Andy King is an option in midfield.

Harris is expected to adopt the same mentality with his Cardiff team, who edged out Luton at the weekend.

Junior Hoilett is pushing for a start on one of the wings, with Robert Glatzel an option if Harris wants more height in his attack.

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Lossl; Simpson, Schindler, Stearman, Toffolo; O'Brien, Hogg; Kachunga, Smith Rowe, Willock; Mounie

Cardiff City possible starting lineup:
Smithies; Richards; Nelson, Morrison, Bennett; Vaulks, Pack; Hoilett, Tomlin, Adomah; Glatzel

We say: Huddersfield Town 2-1 Cardiff City

Having put together a lengthy undefeated streak, Cardiff will fancy their chances of picking up more points on their travels. However, Huddersfield have also started to show their quality, and we feel that home advantage could prove crucial on Wednesday.