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

Two teams with plenty to fight for in the closing stages of the Championship season will meet on Tuesday evening, with Sunderland welcoming Huddersfield Town to the Stadium of Light.

The home side are currently ninth in the table, just two points off the playoffs, while Huddersfield occupy 19th, one point clear of the relegation zone heading into the next set of fixtures in England's second tier.

Match preview

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Sunderland made it back-to-back wins in the Championship on Saturday afternoon when they recorded a 2-1 victory over Birmingham, with on-loan Manchester United attacker Amad Diallo scoring the game's decisive third goal in the 75th minute of the contest.

The Black Cats are currently ninth in the division, just two points behind sixth-placed Blackburn, so they are very much in the mix for a playoff position entering the final straight.

Tony Mowbray's side are actually unbeaten in their last five matches, but three of those have been draws, sharing the spoils with Luton Town, Burnley and Hull City before the successive victories over Cardiff and Birmingham put them right back in the race for promotion.

Sunderland have a tough end to the season, facing West Bromwich Albion, Watford and Preston North End, and it will be fascinating to see where they sit come the end of the regular campaign.

The Black Cats - absent from the Premier League since 2017 - are bidding to make it back-to-back promotions following their rise from League One last term, and they will be looking to do a league double over Huddersfield following their 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

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Huddersfield, meanwhile, will enter this contest off the back of a 1-0 loss at Swansea City on Saturday, which ended a five-game unbeaten run in the second tier of English football.

Neil Warnock's side are currently 19th in the table, just one point clear of the relegation zone, and they will take on fellow strugglers Cardiff City and Reading in two of their final four games of the season.

Huddersfield actually finished third in the Championship last term, which led to them making the final of the playoffs, but they suffered a 1-0 loss to Nottingham Forest.

The Terriers were on the brink of returning to the Premier League last year but are now facing the possibility of dropping down to the third tier, which would be a serious blow.

Huddersfield have the third-worst away record in the league this season, only picking up 16 points on their travels, but Sunderland have found it difficult to show their best form at home, picking up only 28 points from 21 matches, which is a low total considering their position in the table.

Team News

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Sunderland will be without the services of Dennis Cirkin following his red card against Birmingham on Saturday, which is likely to lead to Luke O'Nien coming into the XI at left-back.

The Black Cats have a lengthy injury list, meanwhile, with Niall Huggins, Jewison Bennette, Daniel Ballard, Aji Alese, Corry Evans, Ross Stewart and Elliot Embleton all on the treatment table.

Joe Gelhardt will be pushing for a spot in the starting side, but it seems likely that Alex Pritchard will again operate alongside Jack Clarke and Diallo in the final third of the field.

As for Huddersfield, Anthony Knockaert, Duane Holmes, Oliver Turton, Kieran Phillips, Lee Nicholls, Faustino Anjorin and Yuta Nakayama will miss the game through injury.

Head coach Warnock will need to assess the fitness of his players following the clash with Swansea, but there do not appear to be any fresh concerns at this stage of proceedings.

A 3-5-1-1 formation should again see Danny Ward lead the line, although Josh Koroma will also be in the manager's thinking when it comes to a possible starting role.

Sunderland possible starting lineup:

Patterson; Gooch, Hume, Batth, O'Nien; Roberts, Neil, Michut; Diallo, Pritchard, Clarke

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:

Vaclik; Lees, Helik, Pearson; Kasumu, Hogg, Rudoni, Edmonds-Green, Headley; Diarra; Ward

We say: Sunderland 1-0 Huddersfield Town

This has all of the makings of a very interesting match, with both sides in need of the points. Huddersfield have a big result in them and could claim all three points on Tuesday, but we just have a feeling that Sunderland will be able to navigate their way to a huge victory at the Stadium of Light.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.