Preview: Huddersfield Town vs. Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Premier League newcomers Huddersfield Town find themselves firmly in midtable after 12 matches, but pacesetters Manchester City will pose their toughest challenge so far when they visit the John Smith's Stadium on Sunday.

Pep Guardiola's side boast the division's only unbeaten record and head into the match against the Terriers with an eight-point lead at the top of the table.

Huddersfield

Huddersfield may have gone down 4-0 at struggling Bournemouth last time out, but their form at the John Smith's has been steady, having recently won two top-flight home games back to back for the first time since 1971.

One of those wins was an unlikely 2-1 victory over City's local rivals Manchester United, which came via goals from Aaron Mooy and summer signing Laurent Depoitre.

Solid defending on home soil is the bedrock of David Wagner's team, with Huddersfield having kept clean sheets in three of their six home league games this season.

The Terriers have conceded six in total at the John Smith's, but four of those came in a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.

Huddersfield, however, are leaking goals more frequently than they were in the early stages of the 2017-18 campaign.

In their first six Premier League matches, their opponents converted just 4.5% of their shots for a return of three goals, but in the next six, that conversion record rocketed to 21.9% and 14 goals shipped.

Recent form: LLWLWL

Manchester City

City head to the John Smith's Stadium in scintillating form, to the extent that they could equal their club record of 11 consecutive league wins, set in 2015.

That record, however, was set across two seasons. Guardiola's charges are in the midst of a 10-match winning streak, which is already their all-time best in a single campaign.

Speaking of records, a win for City would see them become the first team in history to rack up 37 points from their opening 13 Premier League games.

The Sky Blues defeated Leicester City 2-0 in their last Premier League outing and followed that up with a 1-0 win against Feyenoord in the Champions League during midweek.

There are few players on Guardiola's books who have not been in stellar form this season, but striker Gabriel Jesus has been particularly effective for the table-toppers.

The Brazilian has been involved in 20 Premier League goals in 21 matches, a run that dates back to the tail end of last season.

David Silva has been one of Guardiola's most improved players this season, notching up eight assists in 12 league appearances this season, one more than he managed in 34 games last term.

Recent form: WWWWWW Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWW

Team News

Huddersfield could make changes in defence and midfield for the match against City, with centre-back Christopher Schindler available for selection having served a suspension.

Central midfielder Jonathan Hogg is also back in contention after missing the hammering at Bournemouth to attend the birth of his son.

City will be without the injured John Stones, and are likely to turn to Nicolas Otamendi to replace the England international at the back.

Guardiola rested a number of key players for the win over Feyenoord, including Silva, Leroy Sane and Vincent Kompany, but could recall all three at Huddersfield.

Either Jesus or Sergio Aguero could start on the bench as the Spanish coach is planning to rotate his two main strikers going forward.

Huddersfield possible starting lineup: Lossl; Hadergjonaj, Schindler, Zanka, Malone; Van La Parra, Mooy, Hogg, Ince; Kachunga, Depoitre

City possible starting lineup: Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Otamendi; Delph, Fernandinho, Silva; Sterling, De Bruyne, Sane; Jesus

Head To Head

There is not much recent history between these two teams, with their last league meeting coming in 2000 when they drew 1-1 in the second tier of English football.

City's only league victory away to Huddersfield came in the form of a 3-1 win in the old Division One in March 1998, although the teams have not spent a great deal of time in the same division since then.

However, City's all-time record league win and Huddersfield's record league defeat have both come in this fixture courtesy of City's 10-1 demolition of the Terriers in 1987.

More recently, they met in the fifth round of the FA Cup last season, with the Sky Blues needing a replay to see their then-Championship opposition off 5-1.

We say: Huddersfield 0-3 Manchester City

City are in such devastating form right now, so it is difficult to bet against them setting a new points record for this stage in a Premier League season when they travel to Huddersfield.

After a solid start to the campaign, Wagner's men have started shipping goals more frequently, and the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Jesus, Silva, Aguero and the rejuvenated Raheem Sterling will likely prove too much for them.

Guardiola's side have won virtually every match this season convincingly, and their test against the newly-promoted Terriers should be no exception.