Opposition watch: Huddersfield TownAfter narrowly avoiding relegation last season, the current campaign has certainly been a more enjoyable one for Mark Robins and his Huddersfield Town side.Currently residing in 16th position in the Sky Bet Championship league standings, eleven points clear of the relegation zone with seven games remaining, the Terriers are well on course to secure a third successive year in England’s second tier.
Having earned promotion to the Championship with victory over Sheffield United at Wembley back in May 2012, Huddersfield’s success came after two successive failed play-off attempts.
A promotion campaign with was helped immensely by the impressive form of striker Jordan Rhodes who notched an incredible 40 goals during the 2011/12 campaign, the departure of the highly rated frontman to Blackburn in the same summer undoubtedly left a lasting effect on the team as they attempted to stave off relegation.
After successfully doing so though, Huddersfield moved to strengthen their squad during the 2013 summer transfer window, most notably with the permanent acquisition of striker James Vaughan from Norwich City.
A fixture in which Wanderers currently hold the upper hand in terms of victories with 44 as opposed to Town’s 32 in all competitions, Robins’ men did run out winners when the two sides met at the Reebok Stadium earlier this season, with Oliver Norwood’s strike securing a 1-0 win back in December.
In the corresponding fixture at the John Smith’s Stadium last season however, the Terriers again thwarted the Whites who looked to be on their way to victory after goals from Mark Davies and Chris Eagles had cancelled out Zat Knight’s earlier own goal.
To Wanderers’ dismay though, Vaughan was to be the hero for the Terriers as his 87th minute goal earned them a share of the spoils.
A man who looks set to return to the Huddersfield fold this weekend after sitting out last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Reading through illness, the 25-year-old currently heads up the Yorkshire outfit’s goalscoring charts with 12 goals to his name this term.
Ironically enough, this weekend’s fixture could see Vaughan come up against his former strike partner Jermaine Beckford with the pair having proven themselves a force to be reckoned with during their respective loan spells at the John Smith’s Stadium last season.
With both sides looks for three points to climb up the league standings as the season enters its final strait, Saturday’s encounter pits two teams against each other who have each managed 50 goals so far this season, with the Terriers having conceded just one less than Wanderers’ 55.
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