Key games the Terriers just can’t afford to lose
THERE are nine games left for Town to preserve their Championship status.
After a miserable start to the season under Jan Siewert, the Terriers have a good chance of avoiding relegation.
Progress under Danny Cowley has been solid and Town restart the campaign in 18th, three points clear of the drop zone.
But the break means that the remaining games are something of an unknown, the notion of form well and truly thrown out of the window after a break longer than the usual close season.
Every game is vital for Cowley’s men, but we’ve pinpointed three that have added significance for the Terriers...
SIX people from four Championship clubs have tested positive for Covid-19 in the EFL’s latest round of tests.
One of those is Stoke manager Michael O’Neill, who is already selfisolating following a diagnosis.
In all, 1,192 players and staff were tested.
There were also two positive tests from a sample size of 137 among the four play-off teams in League One, with Portsmouth announcing two of their players were responsible.
The equivalent teams in League Two came back with a clean bill of health.
THE first match back a week tomorrow after three months away.
These first games could set the tone for every side in the run-in and with Wigan just two places and one point behind Town this is one of the cliched
‘six pointers’ that people talk about.
Three points for Town early doors would immediately create a little bit of breathing space and see a rival handed an early blow, defeat would really drag the Terriers into a dogfight ahead of two tough away assignments at Nottingham Forest and Birmingham City in the following two games.
A massive game.
THE Blues start off with a tough test at promotion-chasing West Bromwich Albion on June 20 and you’d back the second-placed Baggies to do the business there.
A Birmingham loss allied with a Town win would see Huddersfield move within two points of the Midlands side and leave them looking nervously over their shoulder.
While it won’t be an easy trip for Cowley’s men, this clash could provide Town with the springboard to really create some daylight between them and the bottom four.
And with Birmingham revealing that Pep Clotet will be leaving at the end of the season, will it harm the focus of the players for the run-in?
A must-win game. Second from bottom Luton may benefit from the old ‘new manager bounce’ with Nathan Jones back at the helm but he’ll have some repairing of reputation to do after a disastrous Championship stint at Stoke City.
The Hatters are six points from safety and could well find themselves staring down the barrel of relegation when they come to the John Smith’s Stadium. If Town want to finish with a flourish then they will need to be picking up three points here. There can be few excuses for not doing so.