Swansea City and Huddersfield Town will both look to extend positive runs of form on Saturday, when they do battle in South Wales.

An upturn in form has seen the visitors climb out of the bottom three in the Championship table and up to 19th spot, while their hosts sit 14th thanks to three victories from their last four league outings.

Match preview

Following a dismal run of form between mid-February and mid-March, in which they suffered five defeats in a run of six Championship matches and drew the other against Rotherham United, Swansea City looked set for a disappointing end to the campaign with 43 points on the board from 37 league outings, leaving them 16th in England's second tier.

They have since bounced back in impressive fashion, though, and head into Saturday in a four-game unbeaten run including three victories, as they firstly arrested their slump with a 2-0 beating of Bristol City, before eventually coming out of a dramatic South Wales derby with a 3-2 triumph over rivals Cardiff City, as Ben Cabango netted an injury-time winner after Joel Piroe and Liam Cullen previously had them 2-0 up in the first half.

Russell Martin's side then headed into the Easter weekend with the aim of continuing their improvement, beginning with a home contest against Coventry City, in which the spoils were shared as neither side managed to break the deadlock.

Such a result saw the Swans remain 15th in the Championship, before most recently travelling to take on basement side Wigan Athletic on Monday, and they quickly returned to winning ways, with Piroe's brace in the first half proving to be the difference between the sides in Lancashire.

Having leapfrogged Stoke City and moved up to 14th spot with that third win of the four-match span, the Welsh outfit now only trail 13th-placed Bristol City on goal difference and 12th-placed Watford by three points, and they will hope to build on their improved run with another triumph to strengthen their chances of breaking into the top half in the final five games of the season.

In their way stand a Huddersfield Town side who are enjoying a major improvement of their own and arguably have more of a need for three points, having recently put crucial distance between themselves and the relegation zone.

When Neil Warnock was appointed as the new Terriers boss in February, they sat 23rd in England's second tier with just 28 points from 31 league outings, and after a slow start to his tenure, the points tally stood at 33 from 37 matches, but they have since vastly improved their fortunes in the fight for survival.

The Yorkshire outfit would arrest a five-match winless run with a hard-fought 1-0 win away at Millwall, before scoring an eye-catching 4-2 triumph over promotion-chasing Middlesbrough courtesy of goals from Josh Ruffels and Josh Koroma alongside a Matty Pearson brace.

They would then make it three on the bounce for the first time this season at the beginning of the long weekend, putting three more crucial points on the board away at Watford as Jack Rudoni, Pearson and Kian Harratt got on the scoresheet in a 3-2 win.

While they were unable to record a fourth straight win in their last outing on Monday, eventually being held to a 2-2 draw away at Blackburn Rovers in injury time after leading 2-0 through Pearson and Rudoni, the Terriers will certainly be pleased by their dramatic improvement which has inspired a rise out of the bottom three and up to 19th spot, and now sitting two points above the drop zone with five matches left to play, Huddersfield will be desperate to further increase their cushion with another triumph this weekend.

Team News

Following their 2-0 victory on Monday, Russell Martin may look to deploy an unchanged Swansea starting XI on Saturday, although Liam Cullen will hope to return to the front line from the outset after he had to settle for a substitute appearance against Wigan.

Joel Piroe remains their key man in attack and will continue to lead the line, having taken his tally to 16 league goals for the season with his brace in that win.

Elsewhere, captain Matt Grimes will again be joined by Joe Allen and Jay Fulton in midfield, while Nathan Wood and Ben Cabango should continue their pairing in the middle of a back four after Monday's clean sheet, despite competition from Harry Darling.

While the return of attacker Joseph Hungbo has slightly eased Huddersfield's selection concerns, they do remain without a long list of players due to injuries, with Oliver Turton, Yuta Nakayama, Duane Holmes, Anthony Knockaert, Tino Anjorin and Martyn Waghorn all sidelined alongside goalkeeper Lee Nicholls.

New signing Tomas Vaclik has filled in between the sticks recently, and he will again have protection from the back three of Alex Lees, Michal Helik and Josh Ruffels, while Josh Koroma and Matty Pearson, who has notched up four goals in the last three games, will aim to support the attack from makeshift wing-back roles.

Kian Harratt will hope to come in and lead the Terriers line from the outset, although Danny Ward is more likely to be given the nod once again, with the lone striker bound to have additional support from the likes of Hungbo and Jack Rudoni.

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Fisher; Latibeaudiere, Cabango, Wood, Manning; Allen, Grimes, Fulton; Cullen, Piroe, Paterson

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Vaclik; Pearson, Lees, Helik, Ruffels, Koroma; Hungbo, Rudoni, Hogg, Kasumu; Ward

We say: Swansea City 1-1 Huddersfield Town

Both sides are enjoying rich veins of form, and while Saturday presents a particularly difficult trip for the visitors, their recent resilience suggests they have what it takes to extend an unbeaten run and pick up another commendable result.


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