Preston North End Vs Huddersfield Town Match Preview
Npower League One Saturday 14th April 2012
Venue: Deepdale
Kick Off: 15:00
Referee: Andy D’Urso (Click here for referee stats)
Form:
Preston North End: DDLLDD
Huddersfield Town: WWLWLL
With two draws on the spin seemingly secured North End’s League One status, the visit of Huddersfield Town this weekend doesn’t seem quite so crucial.
With 49 points on the board, and a gap of seven points separating the Lilywhites from Wycombe who occupy that much-feared 21st place, it would take a minor miracle on Wycombe’s part for that gap to be overcome.
With that in mind, Graham Westley’s men should be able to play with an element of freedom when their playoff chasing Yorkshire counterparts visit Deepdale at the weekend.
Huddersfield, despite sacking Lee Clark, are still in with a shout of cementing a place on the post-season for the third successive season.
A win for the Terriers would see them put one foot in the playoffs whilst a victory for North End could see them move into the dizzy heights of 13th place.
Previous Meetings (Click here for head-to-head statistics)
When the Lilywhites visited the Galpharm Stadium earlier in the campaign it was just as the wheels were starting to fall off North End’s promotion push.
An Iain Turner howler gifted Terriers star man Jordan Rhodes with the opening goal after just four minutes.
The league’s leading scorer went on to complete his hat-trick with Juvhel Tsoumou netting a reply for North End in a 3-1 defeat.
Huddersfield’s last visit to Deepdale was during the 2000/2001 season where the two sides played out a 0-0 draw.
Team News
One man who definitely won’t be in the North End squad is Steven Smith after his contract was terminated by mutual consent this week.
Nicky Hunt and Craig Morgan will face late fitness tests whilst Barry Nicholson remains sidelined.
Lee Novak (ankle), Oscar Gobern (hamstring) and Damiel Johnson are all doubts for Saturday’s clash whilst former North End loanee Tommy Miller is available again after recovering from a hernia problem.
Jack Hunt is back in contention after serving a two-match suspension.
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